Emily Ann Roberts closes the 2027 Dixie National Rodeo at the Mississippi Coliseum

The Voice runner-up turned ACM-nominated country singer plays both performances on the rodeo's final Saturday, Feb 20, and tickets are already on sale.

The last Saturday of the 2027 Dixie National Rodeo belongs to a singer who got her start in front of a national TV audience before she could drive.

Emily Ann Roberts plays the Dixie National Rodeo at the Mississippi Coliseum on Saturday, Feb 20, 2027, with performances at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. That's two chances to catch her on the same day, a matinee and an evening show. Each rodeo performance is followed by a concert, and hers close out the run. The rodeo goes Feb. 12 through 20, according to WJTV, with no rodeo on Feb. 15 and 16, per the Dixie National's own site. Tickets have been on sale since Oct. 9 through Ticketmaster, so the good seats for the closing Saturday may already be going.

Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gipson announced the full lineup on Sept. 29, per WLBT. Roberts finishes a run that starts with Braxton Keith on Feb. 12 and works through Zach John King on the 13th, Deana Carter on Valentine's Day, Blake Whitten on the 17th, Chris Janson on the 18th and Ole 60 on the 19th. If you're choosing one night, the closing Saturday is a strong pick, and the 2 p.m. show makes it a realistic one for families coming in from out of town.

Who is she? Roberts was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, and was 16 when she auditioned for the ninth season of NBC's The Voice, where she finished as runner-up on Team Blake. Her debut album, Can't Hide Country, came out in September 2023, and she followed it with the EP Memory Lane. She's been opening for Thomas Rhett this year and picked up an ACM nomination for New Female Artist of the Year. Holler summed up her appeal in a headline: country music that grandmas and Gen Z can both enjoy. That's about as good a description of a Dixie National crowd as you'll find.

Country music that grandmas and Gen Z can both enjoy is about as good a description of a Dixie National crowd as you'll find.

The setting is half the show. The Dixie National bills itself as the largest rodeo east of the Mississippi River, and Visit Jackson notes it happens inside the Mississippi Coliseum at the State Fairgrounds. The building holds 6,812 and is owned and run by the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, which is why it's the agriculture commissioner who announces the lineup. It's not a concert hall. You're watching the rodeo first, then the music, from the same seats.

A few practical notes. There are two performances that Saturday, so make sure your tickets are for the one you want. Give yourself time for Fairgrounds parking on a closing weekend. And if you want the full rodeo before the music, get there at the start rather than timing your arrival to the concert.

If the Dixie National isn't already a tradition for you, a closing Saturday with a rising country singer is a good place to start one.

Sources: WJTV: 2027 Dixie National Rodeo tickets go on sale Oct. 9 (wjtv.com); WLBT: Dixie National Rodeo announces 2027 entertainment lineup (wlbt.com); SuperTalk Mississippi: Entertainment lineup announced for 2027 Dixie National Rodeo (supertalk.fm); Dixie National Rodeo (dixienational.org); Ticketmaster: Dixie National Rodeo featuring Emily Ann Roberts, 02-20-2027 (ticketmaster.com); Visit Jackson: Dixie National Rodeo (visitjackson.com); Wikipedia: Emily Ann Roberts (en.wikipedia.org); Holler: Emily Ann Roberts is making country music that grandmas and Gen Z can both enjoy (holler.country); Wikimedia Commons: Category:Mississippi Coliseum (commons.wikimedia.org)