Ana Popovic grew up in the former Yugoslavia at a time when fighting, unemployment, inflation and government propaganda ruled. Her country had been slowly crumbling for decades thanks to the Nazis, the communists and unremitting internal strife. And if the Balkans might not seem the likeliest of places to soak up the blues and R&B, that’s exactly what Popovic did: Her father, Milutin, is a musician who jammed frequently with friends at the family’s home and Ana immersed herself in his record collection, listening to Howlin’ Wolf, Elmore James, Muddy Waters, Albert King, John Lee Hooker, Otis Redding, Ronnie Earl and Aretha Franklin.

“I think the blues is a source for hope and healing, and a way to express feelings that come from your very core,” Popovic said recently by phone. “I wasn’t born poor in the cotton fields, but I still fill my music with who I am. Not all blues artists are American black men, and I’m proud to represent another side that’s just as real.

“In Serbia, we lived in constant fear because of the deception—from both the government and the media that they controlled. So my music is a mix of the personal and political, and the blues have a way of personalizing the political. I do love to talk blues with my Dad when I visit my parents back home. I hope I never forget where I came from. Particularly live, I try to recapture that youthful energy and wonder . . . I still enjoy reaching back to play the first Elmore James solo I ever learned.”

She picked up the guitar as a teenager and formed her first band in 1995. The next year, with the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe, she was playing blues festivals in Greece and Hungary, and opening for several American blues masters, including Junior Wells. Popovic quickly emerged as a rising star on the Dutch blues scene. Following the release of her debut recording Hush!, Popovic moved from Belgrade to the Netherlands to study jazz guitar and world and pop music at the Utrech Academy of Music, and there she expanded her musical vocabulary into soul, funk, and jazz, adding new depth and diversity on subsequent releases Comfort to the Soul (2003), Live in Amsterdam (2005) and Still Making History (2007).

“I think you really need to be thoroughly schooled in the roots of whatever music you’re playing,” she said. “I like to play the old-school stuff, and remember what it was that drew me to this music in the first place. I keep my arrangements fairly simple so we won’t get lost in the studio’s technical gadgetry that can overproduce the music.”

What defines Popovic’s music—particularly on the solid, emotionally charged Still Making History—is her radiant self-confidence, sizzling guitar chops (especially on the bottleneck) and an ability to wrap herself completely around a song. Depending on her mood, she can play anything from innovative covers (Howlin’ Wolf’s “Sittin’ On Top of the World,” Steely Dan’s “Night by Night” or Tom Wait’s “Downtown”) to originals like the reggae-tinged “Between Our World,” her smoldering jazz instrumental “Navajo Moon” or her New Orleans-flavored “Hometown.”

Citing the success of fellow females working in the blues field—namely Bonnie Raitt, Susan Tedeschi, Debbie Davies and Sue Foley, among others—Popovic suggests that empowerment in a man’s world is slowly coming by way of hard work, talent, and perhaps most importantly, a bit of attitude.

“It takes a lot of courage to build something out of nothing,” she said. “I’m not shy when I’m onstage, but sometimes I think I should be even more aggressive . . . so fans know what I represent and who I am. It’s okay for women to show some balls!”

ANA POPOVIC AND MORE LONG BEACH BLUES FESTIVAL | RAINBOW LAGOON PARK | SHORELINE DR AND LINDEN AVE | LONG BEACH 90802 | SAT-SUN 1:15PM | $45-85 | ALL AGES | JAZZANDBLUES.ORG