Mary Cutrufello wants to rock. Period. Whether alone or with a band, the performer makes sure she puts every last drop of passion and sweat into her shows.

Cutrufello has played the Maintenance Shop before, but not alone.

Friday, the Texas rocker will be performing solo.

“It’s a completely different challenge from a band,” Cutrufello says.

“I’m not constrained to the band songs. It’s a little more freewheeling. There’s always a chance for something completely unexpected.”

Cutrufello wasn’t always confident about playing solo. Her first solo performance came somewhat out of the blue.

After its 1998 tour, Cutrufello’s band was ready to go home for Christmas, but she wasn’t.

“I wasn’t done,” she says. “I wanted to try something new.”

Cutrufello quickly learned the ways of a solo performer.

“It was like a time-lapse photo,” Cutrufello says. “I could see my progression after three weeks.”

Cutrufello’s love for performing came at a young age. She began playing the guitar when she was nine years old and living in Connecticut. Her first big performance was at a junior high talent show.

“We performed ‘Hotel California,'” she says.

Cutrufello says she kept her passion for guitar alive during her college years at Yale by playing in different bands.

After graduating with a degree in American studies, Cutrufello moved south to learn the roots of Texas and country music.

This wasn’t something with which the Springsteen-influenced singer was familiar. For Cutrufello, it was all about throwing herself into something completely different and new.

“Growing up in Connecticut, there was no way to immerse myself in [country music],” Cutrufello says.

She experimented with country, building a passionate following.

It wasn’t long however, until she realized country wasn’t for her.

“After about six or seven years, it was time to go back home to play the rock ‘n’ roll I grew up on,” she says.

Whether it’s gritty honky-tonk, straight-ahead guitar rock or acoustic folk, Cutrufello makes a point of incorporating them all.

The singer plans to perform songs from her past three albums for her M-Shop show, including songs from her most recent solo effort, “Songs from the 6.”

“All three records are really different,” Cutrufello says. “I draw freely from all three.”

Cutrufello says she is not worried about the size of her crowd. What matters is the bond she forms with her fans.

“I’ve played everywhere from people’s living rooms to ‘Farm Aid,'” she says.

“It’s all about the connection with the crowd.”

Cutrufello says she has her hopes set high for Friday’s show.

“I think it’ll be an entertaining, yet challenging, yet ultimately rewarding experience,” she says.

A hint of relaxation is sensed in Cutrufello’s voice when she speaks about her solo performance.

“There’s only one brain to worry about,” she says.

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Who: Mary Cutrufello

Where: Maintenance Shop

When: 9 p.m., Friday

Cost: $6 students, $8 public