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Everything Grace Potter does is a "shout-out to Prince."

It might be hard to tell that the frontwoman of roots-rock band Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, who's garnered comparisons to Janis Joplin and Bonnie Raitt for her smoky vocals, has a soft spot for '80s pop gods. But Potter lets her pop flag fly in her first solo album, "Midnight," released in August 2015. Her album tour makes its way to Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre on Thursday for a sold-out show.

"Midnight" isn't exactly what fans of her work with The Nocturnals might expect. With its heavy use of a variety of production elements, it sounds more like an album that might be spun on a dance floor than jammed out at a blues bar. Potter says that wasn't a business decision, as some critics of the album seem to think. "One of the misconceptions about this record is that I went 'pop' so I would be more popular," she said.

From the sound of it, pop has been coming out of her mouth since she was too young to understand the provocative nature of Prince's lyrics. Along with The Purple One, Potter cited legendary performers Michael Jackson, Blondie and Cyndi Lauper as some of the artists who helped her evolve as a vocalist. And that's what her foray into a solo career is all about: continuing to hone her craft in front of the mic.

"This record started as a meditation on my own voice and what it was capable of," Potter said. "My genre is my voice, and if that is suddenly arcing in a different direction, there's a number of ways music can take you."

"Midnight" is Potter's first official album without The Nocturnals to back her. And despite serving as frontwoman and spokeswoman for the band since its inception in 2002, Potter has intentionally strayed from The Nocturnals' Americana vibe to bring her personal style to the forefront. "Everybody has their own individual spirit, and it's kind of ironic to be the lead singer and occasionally feel your voice getting drowned out," she said. "I really went back to my childhood and I went back to some of my influences that weren't The Nocturnals' influences."

That makes "Midnight" a sort of coming-of-age album for Potter, even after more than a decade in the game. She partnered with producer Eric Valentine (a producer with an equally diverse vision, having worked with everyone from Smash Mouth to Queens of the Stone Age) to create an album running the length of the pop-rock spectrum. Sultry synth backs Potter on the track "Delirious" (her reference to the Prince hit of the same name), while "Empty Heart" incorporates clear, gospel choir-type backing vocals to surround her own, more distorted voice. Potter also plays a "stupid amount of instruments on this album," shredding on her signature Gibson Flying V and banging out riffs on piano.

So Nocturnals fans need not fear ­— Potter won't be dancing onstage at Red Butte with her "Beyoncé hair in a wind machine." The decision to go pop for this album stemmed from wanting to expand her abilities as a performer, not to forget where she came from.

"I didn't need to get free, but whatever I had been chained to I chained myself to it, and I had to go through the growing pains," Potter said. "Life is too short not to learn these lessons the hard way." —

Grace Potter

With Con Brio

When • Thursday, Aug. 18, 7:30 p.m., gates at 6:30 p.m.

Where • Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre, 2155 Red Butte Canyon Road, Salt Lake City

Tickets • Sold out