Chris Beard may have grown up around and been influenced by the blues greats, but his music is anything but your grandfather’s jams.

“The thing about blues is this, a lot of people really don’t know the wide range of it,” said the 52-year-old Rochester, N.Y.-based guitarist. “They think of this old man in this rocking chair, that’s where their mind is stuck.”

But Beard proves the skeptics wrong with his mixture of R&B and blues rock sung in a raspy but smooth voice, which he’ll show off at Fat Fish Pub at 6 p.m. Sunday.

“When they hear me, they’ll say, ‘Damn, wow — I like that,’ ” Beard said.

Son of well-known blues man Joe Beard, Chris Beard grew up during the Motown era, surrounded by musicians.

“There were always different people coming in and out of my house as a kid,” Beard said. “Some of the blues greats were friends of my father.” His father’s company often included blues legends like Buddy Guy and Matt Murphy.

It’s no surprise to learn that Beard learned to play the guitar at an early age — 5 years old. And while his music has been influenced by his father and his father’s friends, he’s found his own music style.

“We’re different as day and night,” Beard said about his music compared with his father’s music. While his father Joe’s music is more traditional blues, Chris Beard’s music is blues amplified with funky rock and roll riffs and soulful R&B sounds.

After playing with his father’s band among other groups, Beard finally got his big break in 1998, releasing his debut CD “Barwalkin.” Shortly after, he earned a W.C. Handy Award nomination for “Best New Blues Artist,” and in 1999, he won the Muddy Waters Award from Blues Beat Magazine for “New Talent of the Year.”

Beard went on to release two more CDs, “Born to Play the Blues” (2001) and “Live Wire” (2005), which earned him the nickname “Prince of the Blues” among his most praiseworthy critics.

His newest CD, “Who I am and What I Do,” is slated for release May 30.

“It’s kind of the same but I mixed it up a little bit,” Beard said of the music on this newest CD. “ I really focused a lot on vocals and how I get the message across to the listener.”

He hopes that the music on “Who I am and What I Do” will “reach all people of all ages.”

Co-owner of Fat Fish Pub, Burl Varner, said he’s very excited to have Beard perform his debut Galesburg concert at Fat Fish.

“It might be a nice alternative for people who don’t want to do the Super Bowl parties,” Varner said.

Varner said there are quite a few blues fans in Galesburg, and that ticket sales for Beard’s show are on par with other concerts held at the pub.

“Chris has given the Fat Fish Pub his personal promise that he and his band will ‘set this place on fire’ with their Sunday night performance,” Varner said.

If You Go ...

 What: Chris Beard concert

 When: 6 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 7

 Where: Fat Fish Pub, 158 N. Broad St., Galesburg

 Details: Doors open at 4 p.m. Tickets cost $20 in advance, $25 the day of the show.