Despite all the honors and fame he has enjoyed during a long career, Charlie Musselwhite never sounds the least bit pretentious. He’s just a down-home kind of guy who likes to play the harmonica, and he’s really good at it.

Local fans can see him live once more when he plays July 25 as part of the annual outdoors Cookout Concert Series at the HopMonk Tavern in Novato.

At 81, the blues legend concedes no regrets.

“It’s just great bein’ alive,” he said. “I’m healthy, active, feeling good and enjoying life.”

With “around 40” albums to his credit over a long career, he has a new one out: “Look Out Highway,” released in May.

“It’s getting rave reviews all over,” Musselwhite said. “It hit No. 1 on the blues charts.”

Musselwhite was a Geyserville resident for 30 years until he moved back to his native Mississippi in 2021 with his wife, Henri. He now lives in Clarksdale, known as the birthplace of the blues. One of Musselwhite’s neighbors in Clarksdale is actor Morgan Freeman.

“Morgan still comes to town occasionally,” Musselwhite said. “He’s part owner of a club here.”

During his decades in Northern California, Musselwhite got plenty of attention. He headlined the opening concert of the 2014 Healdsburg Jazz Festival, and in 2022, the festival honored him with a tribute. In his musical career, Musselwhite has worked with a number of blues legends such as John Lee Hooker, Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters, but also with well-known performers such as Eddie Vedder, Cyndi Lauper, Bonnie Raitt and the Blind Boys of Alabama. He also has collaborated with Latin American artists, including Eliades Ochoa and Cuarteto, and the Australian band INXS.

In the 1960s, Musselwhite migrated north to Chicago from his native Mississippi. Upon his arrival in Chicago, he started hanging at the local blues clubs and was regarded by the musicians as just another fan at first. Then one night, a waitress at Muddy Waters’ home club, Pepper’s Lounge, urged the master bluesman to give the kid a try.

Musselwhite’s first album — “Stand Back! Here Comes Charley Musselwhite’s South Side Band” — came out in 1967. Since then, he has been part of many collaborations. Over the years, Musselwhite has recorded and toured repeatedly with blues guitarist Elvin Bishop, a veteran of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Musselwhite played on Tom Waits’ 1999 album “Mule Variations.” He also pulled in a whole new generation of fans with his duo CD with singer-songwriter Ben Harper called “Get Up!” It won a Grammy Award for blues album in 2014.

In addition to his musical career, Musselwhite has enjoyed some success on the screen, too. Musselwhite appeared in the film “Blues Brothers 2000,” along with many other star musicians, including B.B. King, Eric Clapton, Gary U.S. Bonds, Bo Diddley, Jimmie Vaughan, Clarence Clemons, Dr. John, Isaac Hayes, Lou Rawls, and Koko Taylor.

“I wish they had filmed us all backstage,” Musselwhite recalled. “There was a lot of laughing.”

He was also featured in a small but important role in director Martin Scorsese’s 2023 film “Killers of the Flower Moon.”

“I don’t think I’ll top that,” he said.

In parting, Musselwhite ended a recent phone interview from his home in Clarksdale by inviting fans to attend the Novato show with a refrain he has used before: “Come early, stay late and bring your dancin’ shoes!”