Ana Popovic has been moving west all her life. She fell in love with American blues as a kid, starting back home in Belgrade, Serbia. Then moved to the Netherlands to study at the conservatory of jazz and world-music.  After living in Amsterdam for over ten years, she relocated to Memphis, TN to record and work with Southern musicians. Finally in 2016, she moved her family to Los Angeles, where she now lives. 

On Tuesday Oct. 19 Popovic returns to the east, eastern U.S. that is, for a special performance at The Stanhope House. The Stanhope House is located on Main Street in Downtown Stanhope. Show time is 7:30 p.m. 

The award-winning guitar player, singer and songwriter has been touring steadily for 20 years and with COVID putting things on hold for all musical acts, she’s thrilled to be back on the road now. 

“It’s really hard to believe that twenty years ago, I gave up a career in graphic design, formed the Ana Popovic band, and decided to be a full-time musician,” she said. “Soon after, I traveled to Memphis to record HUSH!, my first solo release. I had big dreams back then and I still dream big today.” 

Early on she appeared as a special guest on tour with Michael Hill and things took off in a big way after that. 

“It was my first North American tour and that springboarded me to the point where today, two decades later,” Popovic noted. “I can proudly look back at a career of thousands of shows over five continents. I’ve successfully merged musical styles and inspired a new generation of guitar players male and female to start pursuing their dreams, regardless of where they were born. Sometimes, the clichés about (music) business are right. If you work hard enough and want it bad enough, you can make anything happen.” 

The dream started as a project in a garage in Belgrade. Many years and recordings later, nearly all of Popovic’s albums reached the top of the Billboard Blues Charts. Her dream continues. 

For tickets and information about the Ana Popovic show, and other events at the Stanhope House, go to www.stanhopehousenj.com. 

Photo by Martine Berendsen