Miami's Best Concert of the Week: Grace Potter at the Faena Theater

So, we're going to assume you don't have a Beyoncé ticket. But don't worry. There's still another option.

“Hot to the Touch,” the first track off of Grace Potter's 2015 solo debut, Midnight, sounds a bit like the theme song to the BBC science-fiction drama Torchwood. But in addition to similar tastes in sound, the two have something else in common. Much like the team of covert British alien hunters, for years, Grace Potter has mostly operated under the radar of the mainstream. She's long been an underappreciated talent both on the guitar and behind the microphone. 
With this new record, she's broken away from her blues/country-rock past and dropped her longtime backing band, the Nocturnals (in name at least; several band members appear on Midnight), in an attempt to break into the pop-music pantheon and lure a wider audience. The change in direction of sound owes plenty to Potter’s varied influences, which include Beck, Blondie, Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Miles Davis, Prince, and Stevie Nicks. As for the record, there’s no shortage of famous faces supporting this shift as Audra Mae, Noelle Skaggs, Rayland Baxter, Wayne Coyne, and Nick Oliveri of Queens of the Stone Age all lend a helping hand. What this means for Potter’s future as a solo artist remains to be seen, but with her ever-expanding catalog, powerhouse voice, and the ability to appeal to music fans regardless of the genre this chameleon throws herself into, Grace Potter is a musical gem not to be missed.

Grace Potter. 9 p.m. Wednesday, April 27, at the Faena Theater, 3201 Collins Ave., Miami Beach; 305-534-8800; faena.com. Tickets cost $75 to $410 via ticketmaster.com.