Emily Ann Roberts books the Tennessee Theatre on her first headlining tour

The Thread Tour reaches Knoxville on Friday, Feb. 5, with Kenny Whitmire opening, one of the first stops on a 23-city spring run.

A first headlining tour is a test of whether the people who know your songs will show up when your name is the only one on the marquee. Emily Ann Roberts has picked a big room in Knoxville to find out.

Emily Ann Roberts plays the Tennessee Theatre on Friday, Feb. 5, 2027, at 8 p.m., with Kenny Whitmire opening. Tickets are through Ticketmaster. The show was announced Oct. 22, and presales opened around then with the general sale right behind, so tickets are on sale now. The Tennessee Theatre holds 1,631.

The run is called The Thread Tour, and it's her first as a headliner: 23 cities across the spring of 2027, according to The Music Universe. Knoxville sits near the very start of it. The tour opens at the Walker Theatre in Chattanooga, and after Knoxville it heads to the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on Feb. 13, before working its way out to places like Royale in Boston in March. Openers rotate across the run, with Colton Dawson, Mae Estes, Cole Goodwin and Whitmire each taking select dates.

Her first tour as a headliner: 23 cities across the spring of 2027.

The name comes from the record. Thread, her new EP, is a five-song set that includes "Laundry," as The Music Universe laid out ahead of its release, and it's available on Apple Music. Her team at 117 Group has also been rolling out singles like "The Fence," which it described as a song she dug deep for. That's the material this tour is built around: a short, focused record and a set of songs fans have been living with through the fall.

Booking the Tennessee Theatre for an early stop on a first headlining tour is a statement. At 1,631 seats, it isn't a club where a few hundred people make a full house. It's a room where a headliner has to carry a whole evening, and putting Knoxville this close to opening night means East Tennessee gets the show while it's still fresh, a week before she plays the Ryman.

Whitmire is worth arriving on time for, too. He's one of four openers on the tour, and Knoxville is one of the nights he has.

If you've been waiting for a reason to see Roberts in a proper theatre, this is it, and February will arrive faster than it seems from here. Get the tickets now, then spend the winter learning the EP.

Sources: The Thread Tour kicks off early next year — The Music Universe (themusicuniverse.com); Emily Ann Roberts spins an uncommon Thread on upcoming EP — The Music Universe (themusicuniverse.com); Thread - EP — Apple Music (music.apple.com); Emily Ann Roberts digs deep and releases her highly anticipated single “The Fence” — 117 Group (117group.com); Emily Ann Roberts — The Thread Tour, Boston (thebostoncalendar.com); Emily Ann Roberts Tour Tickets — SeatGeek (seatgeek.com); Emily Ann Roberts at Tennessee Theatre — Ticketmaster (ticketmaster.evyy.net)