Among the new faces for Bluesfest is Serbian-born guitarist and singer Ana Popovic, who plays tomorrow night.

"I grew up listening to blues because my dad had a big collection," says Popovic.

Popovic was born in Belgrade in the former Yugoslavia, on May 13, 1976. Her father was a musician, too, and she took up his guitar at the age of 15.

Among the blues stars she heard through her father's record collection were Elmore James, Albert Collins, Stevie Ray Vaughan with Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix emerging as other influences.

By her early 20s, Popovic had formed her first band, Hush, playing hundreds of gigs and making regular appearances on Yugoslavian television. She eventually chose to leave her homeland to pursue an education studying music in the Netherlands, which became her base.

"There are still too many nationalistic citizens there and I'm not one of the them," says Popovic. "(I'm) a citizen of the world."

Serbia's ultra-nationalists have isolated the Balkan country and some North Americans have demonized Serbs.

"I don't like to think that I am," Popovic says of being affected by such prejudices.

Her story shapes her music. Last year's CD Still Making History is her first for Eclecto Groove Records. "This record started off as a simple reminder of the difficult path I chose," Popovic says. "My own country was facing difficult times and abandoned by the western world I was moving to western Europe, and struggling to survive it all."

Visa problems kept Popovic from playing Thunder Bay's blues festival, part of a circuit of connected fests including London's.

Those problems were cleared up this week and Bluesfest were cleared up this week and Popovic will play fests in London and Windsor this weekend.