Lydia Warren never cared much for the blues growing up, though judging by the music she plays now, you would never guess it.

“I grew up listening to a lot of heavy rock, like Metallica and Nine Inch Nails,” Warren says. She remembers vividly the day she discovered the blues.

The Massachusetts native, then 14, was sitting in front of the television with her dad, watching the video version of John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers.

“I was kind of bored with all of it,” Warren recalls. “But then Albert King came on, and I’d never heard of him. All I could think was ‘What is this? I’ve got to see this guy live!'”

After her father politely informed her that King, the legendary blues guitarist, was long dead, he took her to see some real blues acts. Soon after, she traded in her old bass guitar and equipment, bought an electric guitar and started playing the blues.

Now just 22, Warren has already released three albums of raw, rock-tinged blues. She’s appearing at the Time Out Pub in Rockland this Monday with her band, and you’d easily mistake her for a tried and true road warrior, though she’s toured only the East Coast.

She cites King, along with Buddy Guy and lesser-known blues artists such as Magic Sam and Otis Rush, as influences. Vocally, she loves Etta James, though she professes an affinity for pop music as well.

“The biggest playlist on my iPod is definitely blues, but after that it’s pop music. I love Britney Spears and Michelle Branch,” she says with a laugh.

This is the second of Warren’s appearances in Maine. Her latest album, “Through With Love,” is available at her web site, www.lydiawarren.com.

Warren doesn’t shy away from being called a “badass rock chick”; in fact, she embraces it. She is a gifted guitarist, and has a powerful set of pipes. Maybe something of the spirit of Albert King passed into this kid from the suburbs of Boston. Or maybe she just knows what she likes and knows how to do it. Either way, she’s someone to watch out for.

The Lydia Warren Band performs at 7 p.m. Monday, May 16, at the Time Out Pub in Rockland.