The Garde Arts Center has been bringing in more and bigger music acts lately, but this one is a stunner: Melissa Etheridge, the rock titan, will play the intimate, 1,400-seat Garde on Friday.

Will she blow the roof off the joint? Um, yeah, she will!

Granted, Etheridge will be focusing a good deal on holiday songs; the show’s subtitle is “Merry Christmas, Baby,” after all. She released a Christmas album in 2008, and “A New Thought for Christmas” saw Etheridge turn her powerhouse voice on such classics as “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and “Blue Christmas.”

In the past, Etheridge’s Christmas concerts have mixed in a few of her chart-topping hits, too, so don’t fret. She might perform “I Want to Come Over” or “Bring Me Some Water” or “I’m the Only One” or “Like the Way I Do” or one of your other faves.

Melissa Etheridge: Merry Christmas, Baby, 8 p.m. Friday, Garde Arts Center, 325 State St., New London; $58-$78; (860) 444-7373.