Eric Bibb brings blues to the Bing for Wednesday concert

Eric Bibb is an American musician who specializes in a distinctly American style, but he’s been living in Europe for most of his adult life.

“Not only is there a tremendous appreciation for that music on this side of the pond, there’s an increasing number of fine players of this music who don’t come from the States,” Bibb said. “There’s a huge awareness for blues, jazz and country music, and it’s striking a chord with people. It’s becoming more and more visible. It’s not such a niche thing, and that’s a good thing for me.”

The famed bluesman, who returns to Spokane on Wednesday, resides in Sweden. He describes the European blues scene as being somewhat similar to the folk scene in 1960s Greenwich Village, which is where he got his start.

“It does produce a certain kind of camaraderie and fellowship,” Bibb said of the genre. “It has its roots in a community of people with certain values. And we’re probably not talking about people living high on the hog, we’re talking about people who are workers. … There’s something of the ’60s in this new wave, for sure.”

That community has only grown and strengthened over the years. Bibb says that advancing technology has increased his productivity and his music’s visibility, even if the traditionalism of the music remains more or less the same.

“I record a lot, and I record anywhere and everywhere,” Bibb said. “I love having an opportunity, on a day off on the road, to look online and find a local studio that suits my needs, go in and start something that ends up on a record I finish in London. That happens quite a lot.”

Bibb has been a prolific recording artist since the ’70s, and he tends to put out a new record nearly every year. Nothing has been released so far in 2015, but Bibb says he does plan for a new record called “Lead Belly’s Gold,” a tribute to the influential career of blues legend Huddie Ledbetter, to hit stores sometime in the winter.

“It’s mostly live, but it’s got some studio tracks on it,” Bibb said of the upcoming LP. “It’s a project I’m really happy with. The live tracks I recorded in a small jazz club in Paris. I’m really looking forward to sharing that.”

As for his acclaimed live show, Bibb will be performing with multi-instrumentalist Michael Jerome Browne when he hits the Bing Crosby Theater next week. He’ll perform tracks from the new “Lead Belly” album, but he’ll also go back through his decadeslong career.

“I don’t create a repertoire just to promote the latest album; I don’t find that exciting,” Bibb said. “Basically I’m choosing songs from all through my career that I feel are going to excite me and hopefully excite the audience. I’m really looking forward to making a connection with songs that I know from experience and build that bridge between me and the audience.”