By Pati deVries.
Internationally renowned guitarist Ana Popovic will release her new album, Power, and a video for "Flicker 'n Flame" on Friday, May 5th, via artisteXclusive Records.
Popovic has built her career on defining and describing the essential emotions upon which the essence of the blues has always been made. She's shown her commitment to celebrating the music's sound and style through consistent touring, awards, and recognition for the past 25 years. In the process, she's emerged as one of the most thoughtful, dynamic, and committed musicians today.
Power brings those dynamics to the fore and, in the process, turns this set of songs into both a powerful and personal tale of survival through faith, determination, and tenacity. They were spawned from a decidedly tricky set of circumstances that tested Ana's devotion to making music and her perseverance.
In the fall of 2020, while the world was dealing with Covid, Ana was in a dire and devastating situation. She was diagnosed with breast cancer, the same disease that took her mother three years before. Her world seemed ready to crumble. Her family had just built a beautiful new home in Manhattan Beach, California. Still, with that terrible diagnosis, it seemed that everything she and her family had looked forward to was coming to a crashing halt. "It left me with so many uncertainties," Ana recalls. "We didn't know what to do. Should we move back to Europe, where we had left to establish ourselves in the U.S.? Should I abandon my music career and stop performing? I didn't know what choices I had or what path I could take."
Her bass player and musical director, Buthel, gave her the support and encouragement she needed. He insisted that it would be wrong for her to consider retirement. "You're born for this," he told her. "We've got work to do. We need to continue to touch people with our music."
Consequently, between 14 chemotherapy treatments and flights back and forth between L.A. and Amsterdam, where she received her treatments, Ana and her band connected on Zoom to write the material that coalesced as the new album. Demos, recordings, and re-recordings took place in that manner.
Flicker 'N' Flame Teaser
The songs shared on Power testify to her conviction. Recorded with an all-star line-up of top-notch musicians, Popovic and Buthel wrote and produced the album, which was then mixed and mastered by Grammy winner Bishop Hicks. The results confirm the emotional investment that allowed each entry to become a testimonial to Ana's potency and prowess. With her sizzling Strat riffs and electrifying vocals, Ana and company veer from hard stomping blues to relentless rhythms and searing soulful refrains.
Given that forthright approach, it's little wonder Ana's music continues to have such an indelible impact. Described as "one helluva guitar player" by Bruce Springsteen, she's appeared on the cover of Vintage Guitar and Guitar Player magazines. Earlier releases, Can You Stand The Heat and Unconditional, were tapped as a "Pick-Of-The-Week" by USA Today and given prominent airplay on NPR. In addition, most of Ana's albums have climbed to the Top of the Billboard Charts and continue to receive regular airplay on radio stations worldwide.
Notably, Ana was the only female guitarist to be included in the 2014 -2018 all-star Experience Hendrix tribute, a national tour celebrating the music and legacy of Jimi Hendrix that also included such celebrated participants as Buddy Guy, Eric Johnson, and Kenny Wayne Shepherd, among many others.
Ana was initially introduced to music by her father, a storied musician in Belgrade. She took up guitar as a teenager and formed her first band, Hush, in 1995. She recorded her debut album in 1999 and moved to the Netherlands to study jazz guitar and other musical pursuits at the Conservatory of Music. Ana claims no less than twelve albums in her storied catalog.
Well positioned among today's musical elite, Ana's confidence and credibility continue unabated. "Once I found myself back on my feet, everything instantly crystalized for me," she reflects. "I was able to embrace myself, reinvent myself, as far as my presence and possibilities. I'm ready to keep celebrating life through music. That's where I am now, and happily, there's no looking back."
TOUR DATES
May 3 THE JAZZ KITCHEN, INDIANAPOLIS, IN
May 4 THE WILDEY THEATRE, EDWARDSVILLE, IL
May 5 MEMPHIS IN MAY, MEMPHIS, TN
May 6 SONGBIRDS, CHATTANOOGA, TN
May 7 LINCOLN THEATRE, RALEIGH, NC
May 9 IRIDIUM JAZZ CLUB, NEW YORK CITY, NY
May 10 LIZZIE ROSE MUSIC ROOM, TUCKERTON, NJ
May 11 THE DRAKE, AMHERST, MA
May 12 TUPELO MUSIC HALL, DERRY, NH
May 13 TCAN, NATICK, MA
May 15 + 16 FANATICS LIMA, NY
May 17 MAUCH CHUNK OPERA HOUSE, JIM THORPE, PA
May 18 WALL STREET THEATER, NORWALK, CT
May 19 THE KATE OLD SAYBROOK, CT
May 20 NARROWS, FALL RIVER, MA
Website: anapopovic.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/AnaPopovicMusic
Twitter: twitter.com/anapopovic