“Do you want to recycle or try something new? I never chased popular opinion as much as I chased my inner feelings”: How surviving cancer inspired Ana Popovic to take blues guitar to the dancefloor

While making 2023’s Power, Ana Popovic was tackling breast cancer. She survived, leading to introspection on 2025’s Dance to the Rhythm. “You start thinking, ‘How much time do I have?’,” she says. “You think, ‘Do I want to keep going at this pace? If I do, what do I want to give people?’”

Popovic’s take on the blues has always been edgy. She’s never cared what people think and isn’t focused on tradition. “I want to be new, uncensored, not fake,” she says. “I want to be myself and to give the real me to the audience and listeners with every new record.”

Popovic says Dance to the Rhythm features “a strong sense of roots.” Her “musical home is the starting point, as I’m always aware of where I came from musically.” But she’s not planning on staying home. She isn’t sure where she’s going, and she’s not worried.

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“It’s about new, unexplored horizons,” she says. “Even after all this time, I look around and I am just thankful.”

Your take on the blues is different, which galvanizes and polarizes fans.

If you’re bound to break some rules to bring something new to the table, how can you be bothered by what the majority has to say about it? Either you've got the balls to do it or you don’t. Do you want to recycle or try something new? I never chased the popular opinion as much as I chased my inner feelings.

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What inspired Dance to the Rhythm?

We were jubilant, we were full of dance. No boundaries for our creativity. That’s how we felt making the record – groove and dance. With Power, we were trying to survive. Through Dance, we celebrated life and a new chance. Dance is one of the styles of music I haven’t explored, [but] it has always been present in my life. I always wanted to make a connection between the guitar and dance.

How has surviving cancer shifted your perspective?

It’s a major shift in your universe. It puts a perspective on your whole life. I’ve always approached my art as sacred. I need to put my whole self into it. Don’t borrow from people around you; try to be authentic. But being faced with so much insecurity brought the aspect of time.

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Who are you as a guitar player today?

I am a guitar player who’s in charge of everything. When I think about my playing, I see the big picture. With time, the guitar became literally my right hand; it serves as an inspiration for the stories.

What guitars are on the new album?

My “Foggy” Custom Shop Strat, my all-original ’64 Strat and my ’57 reissue Strat, plus Teles, Gibson Les Pauls, Martin acoustics, and so on. My pedalboards are always a mix of older and newer gear, but I’m a fan of older gear.

What’s your outlook now?

While having a long career, you come across obstacles. You fight on, and the reward tastes twice as sweet. But what I’m most proud of is that I’ve done it without compromising my private life.

• Dance to the Rhythm is out now via Electric Heel.
• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.