Eric Bibb was born and raised in New York City, the son of folk singer Leon Bibb. But he first found his own audience for his brand of the blues in Europe -- and also found that many Europeans have adopted the blues as their own.

With Aynsley Lister and Ian Parker following earlier generations of Brits into the blues, along with lesser-known artists such as Finland's Erja Lyytinen and Serbia's Point Blank Blues Band, Bibb (who brings his tour in support of his latest album, "Get on Board," to Acoustic Music San Diego on Friday) said hearing people from other cultures giving the music so much love has helped it cultivate new fans in the States.

"The international interest in blues has definitely helped people's awareness here in America to take a second and third look at something that's been taken for granted here," he said by phone last week.

"Obviously (the blues) is a reminder of an era and a time when the oppression factor was based on race, and upwardly mobile people seeking another life beyond sharecropping were not that keen on being reminded of the uneven playing field in which the blues had been born. That's changing, because the more people move on individually and collectively … you can kind of pick and choose. You can keep that beautiful, groovy thing that is the blues without taking on the baggage of the mindset that was prevalent when the blues was born.

"Hearing that music appreciated by Europeans really puts a whole other spin on things."

While his father found a fair amount of success in the folk scene of the 1960s, even hosting his own TV show on NBC called "Someone New," Bibb said his father tried to quietly steer him into a less-difficult career.

"I must say, as much as he always nurtured my musical dreams, there was a part of him that didn't really jump at pushing me in that direction.

"He never discouraged me, but he never really encouraged me to become a musician. Both my parents would have seen me finishing Columbia University and doing something other than becoming a professional musician at the top of their list."

Bibb's father, who lives in Vancouver, British Columbia ("and still singing beautifully at age 87 -- he's preserved his voice wonderfully, I don't know how"), was only one of the musical influences on his career, though.

Early on, he left New York and moved to Paris, where he played with guitar innovator Mickey Baker -- who is generally credited as one of the founders of modern rock guitar for his recordings in the late 1950s and early '60s, both solo and as half of the popular duo Mickey & Sylvia, yet is generally unknown by the general public today.

"I was in touch with Mickey not so long ago. He's still doing well and making music -- writing sonatas and fugues for classical guitar.

"Mickey was an innovator across many genres, and it's obvious that he was just somebody who was flying below the radar."

Bibb's own music crosses genres repeated, with "Get on Board" having as much gospel and jazz as it does blues. Bibb said that mixture is a reflection of his approach to the music.

"The way I've been able to make a personal style out of combining influences is truly a natural process for me. I don't think about it -- it just happens that way. But I don't consciously avoid pure forms, either. There's a new record that will be out early next year, just me and my guitar and a harmonica player. That record is comparatively speaking the most identifiably pure blues sound -- if there is any such thing, which I question."

After touring the United States and Canada for the next few months, he's making a return trip to Sweden -- where he also lived for a while, and where he looks forward to hearing the local blues talent again, which he says is as good as here in the birthplace of the blues.

"I've had a chance to hear groups from Scandinavia, France, England and Italy. World-class. Absolutely world-class players. Frighteningly good sometimes -- it gives you pause.

"It lets you know that this music is so strong from the get-go, that it's really become international and a universal language that people have gravitated to and made their own."

Eric Bibb

When: 7:30 p.m. May 15

Where: Acoustic Music San Diego, 4650 Mansfield St. (Normal Heights United Methodist Church), San Diego

Tickets: $15-$20

Info: (619) 303-8176 or acousticmusicsandiego.com

Web: ericbibb.com