New Haven Register (Sunday) (New Haven, CT)
Ana Popovic will play the Belgrade blues in Fairfield
FAIRFIELD — Get ready for the return of Ana Popovic!
Serbia’s greatest gift to the blues, who has been a relatively frequent visitor to Connecticut in recent years, returns to Fairfield Theatre Company’s StageOne for a show on Thursday.
Showtime is 7:45 p.m. Tickets are $38, available in advance at fairfieldtheatre.org or 203259-1036. StageOne is at 70 Sanford St. in Fairfield.
If you know anything about Popovic, you know she’s not your typical bluesman.
Aside from the obvious fact that she’s a woman, she grew up in Belgrade, not Chicago, Mississippi or Memphis, even though the latter is where she lives now. (She also previously lived in New Orleans and Amsterdam, among other places.)
But put a guitar in her hand and a slide on her finger and Popovic can shred the blues with the best of them, albeit with a bit of a rock edge and a touch of soul mixed in.
She’s also an excellent singer and songwriter who was the first European blues musician to get a slot on the Ultimate Rhythm & Blues Cruise. She has performed with Dweezil Zappa, John Oates, Buddy Guy and Taj Mahal, among others.
Popovic’s latest album, “Like It On Top,” in which she explores various aspects of women’s empowerment, was released on Friday.
Recorded in Nashville, it was produced by four-time Grammy winner Keb’ Mo’ and features guest appearances from him, as well as Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Robben Ford.
Also worth going to: Today, St. Lucia-born Rastafarian Taj Weekes and Adowa will perform a show of socially conscious reggae as part of Fernando Pinto’s East Rock Concert Series at the mActivity Coffee Bar (285 Nicoll St., New Haven).
Showtime is 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 in advance, available at tajweekes.bpt.me, or $15 at the door.