AUSTIN, Texas — It was 102 degrees in the shade Saturday afternoon, and inside the Tower Records on Guadalupe Street things were hot as well, fueled by the fluid guitar lines of rising blues star Sue

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Foley.

Before appearing later that night at a celebration honoring the 25th anniversary of the seminal Austin blues club Antone's (also home of the record label that launched her national presence), Foley was celebrating the recent release of her sixth CD, Love Comin' Down (Shanachie, 2000).

The disc, hailed as a career-maker for the Canadian-born artist, was produced by Colin Linden and features nine Foley originals. Playing to an initial crowd of about 35 (which grew rapidly as her set progressed) Foley opened with the blues-and-love traveler's tale "Two Trains" (RealAudio excerpt).

Clearly a woman in command of her instrument, the petite Foley, dressed casually in a black tank top and blue slacks, sent notes from her pink-and-gold paisley-patterned electric guitar sliding and bending throughout the store and down the sun-baked street outside, framing her rough-edged soprano with style.

Backed by a three-piece band of drums, keyboard and bass, she quickly made listeners — ranging in age from the elementary-school set to the white-haired — forget about the chrome-and-metal ambience of a modern record store, drawing them deeper into the blues with a sizzling cover of the Willie Dixon tune "Same Thing," which is also on Love Comin' Down.

Foley was first attracted to the bluesy side of the Rolling Stones' music as a teenager and decided to learn the blues herself when she heard harmonica player James Cotton, a longtime Muddy Waters sideman.

She's learned the lessons well, recently winning Female Vocalist of the Year at the Maple Blues Awards in Canada and attracting notice as a rising talent from Downbeat magazine.

Folk Grammy winner Lucinda Williams sat in on Foley's latest disc, which also includes another tune she showcased, a barrelhouse blues about a woman with a mind of her own called "You're Barkin' Up the Wrong Tree" (RealAudio excerpt).

Dennis Elinsky, who works at Tower, said in-store appearances such as Foley's give the customers something different to look forward to, "and I'm really enjoying this, because I love Sue's music. She's great."

Store patrons seemed to agree, as even those browsing in the classical and jazz sections upstairs came down to see where the music was coming from and stayed to listen as Foley hit a laid-back, jazz-flavored blues song, "Oh Baby (We Got a Good Thing Goin')," and took it into an extended jam with her band.

As the hot notes floated down the hot street, passers-by looked in and came to stay, filling up the aisle of the store, tapping their feet and nodding their heads in time with the guitar-driven rhythm.

Drawing her showcase to a close, Foley took on "Let Me Drive," another vignette of feisty independence backed by sweetness. She then mingled with her fans, answering questions and signing autographs, before heading off to prepare for her evening set at Antone's.

Occasionally sounding like a more mellow-voiced Janis Joplin or a darker-edged Bonnie Raitt, in this brief, five-song set Foley showed a style and voice distinctly her own and proved herself an electrifying, substantial guitar player.