Del Rey has come a long way, from being a teen-age surfer chick to becoming a leading authority on blues and jazz of the 1920s and ’30s.

Oh, yeah! She plays a mean guitar too.

Mainers will get to see both sides of Rey, Seattle’s guitar queen, when she comes to the state for five shows as part of her third New England tour.

She will bring her blend of country blues, classic jazz, stride piano and hillbilly boogie for shows at 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19, at the Sea Dog Brewery in Camden and 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 20, at the Left Bank Cafe in Blue Hill. She will present her Women in American Music program at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 22, at Thomas College in Waterville and at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 23, at Unity College.

Even though she has played guitar since age 4, it was being in the right place at the right time that got the San Diego native interested in older blues and jazz.

“I was 13 or 14, and I stumbled onto a little music shop, and started playing at open-mike night there,” Rey recalled. “The little man who ran the shop handed me a tape of Memphis Minnie stuff, and I really loved it. Then this older blues man named Sam Chatmon started coming, and they stuck me on stage with him. I did my best, and started copying what he was doing. That got me deeper into the music.”

What Rey found out was that, contrary to popular belief, female musicians were performing in the ’20s and ’30s, including Memphis Minnie, Lovie Austin, Rose Maddox and Mary Osborne. Now, through her Women in American Music program and by writing magazine articles, she spreads the word.

“I call it my Memphis ministry,” she said, tongue in cheek. “This music is important and is such a big part of our history and culture. There’s been a big jump in awareness of this music and how great it is. It comes from a time when our culture wasn’t so homogenized, and that’s one of the reasons I like it so much.”

Rey sees more and more groups tuning into the music she loves.

“The bands I see on the West Coast are drawing from sources that are from the ’20s, ’30s and ’40s,” she said. “They have an awareness and an appreciation for the complexity of the music. Some have been criticized for the crudeness of their efforts, but it’s better for them to take a few chances than to fossilize the music.”

An innovator herself, Rey has gotten past that clumsy stage.

“The more I know musically, the less stupid choices I make,” she said. “Now I make new, more elegant mistakes.”

Rey has released two solo albums on her own Hobemian Records label, 1993’s “Boogie Mysterioso” and 1995’s “Hot Sauce.” She said she has plenty of material ready for another album, but interesting opportunities to perform keep taking her away from the studio.

Using her unique finger style on her metal resonator guitar, Rey plays two-thirds cover versions of old songs and one-third original material.

“As a guitar player, I try to make the guitar sound like a piano,” she said. “I listen to pianos and horns, to escape some of the cliches you can fall into on your own instrument. This forces me to find interesting ways to solve problems.”

How has Rey’s music evolved over the past 20-plus years?

“Techniquely, I’m playing much more interesting stuff,” she said. “Country blues is a world-class guitar style. For a folk music, it’s a very intricate style, rivaling classical. As a singer, I pick more interesting material, because I know more about the people and places [behind the music].”

For more information, call the Sea Dog (236-6863), Left Bank Cafe (374-2201), Thomas College (873-0771), Unity College (948-3131).