The Big 4 to Watch at Big Lick Blues Fest

It's not anywhere in the advertisements, but Saturday's Big Lick Blues Festival could easily be subtitled "rockin' blues women."

Headliner Shemekia Copeland and Ana Popovic are at the top of their respective games, musically, and should provide some killer sets.

Copeland, a Grammy nominee and multiple winner of W.C. Handy (now International Blues) awards, has a huge, soulful voice. Popovic, a native of Belgrade, Serbia, is already a big blues-rock name in Europe, and her guitar playing disproves any idiot's hypothesis that a woman can't rock the six-strings.

Nighthawks co-founder and Roanoke-area favorite Jimmy Thackery is also on the bill. And Hamilton Loomis, a protege of the late, American roots music icon Bo Diddley, will devote part of his set to a Diddley tribute.

Mike Westcott's Blues on Board -- this year's Blue Ridge Blues Society contest winner -- as well as Roanoke songstress Amy Alls and New River Valley bluesmen Chickenwings & Gravy complete the bill.

ANA POPOVIC
The 32-year-old performer brings a mix of blues, rock, jazz and soul, which she spices up with nasty guitar licks aplenty. Her Serbian-accented voice is an underrated and authentic instrument. After growing up in a musical family, she studied jazz guitar in the Netherlands before turning to full-time performing by 1998.

Former Prince drummer David Z has produced or co-produced two of her records, including her most recent, "Still Making History" -- a stylistically diverse affair. Popovic's touring band includes Roanoker James Pace on keyboard.