Emily Ann Roberts brings her first headline tour home to the Tennessee Theatre

The Knoxville singer and former 'Voice' runner-up plays the Gay Street landmark on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2027, with Kenny Whitmire.

There's a particular kind of nerve it takes to put your hometown's grandest room on your very first headline tour. Emily Ann Roberts is doing exactly that: The Thread Tour stops at the Tennessee Theatre on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2027, and for a lot of people in this town, it'll feel less like a concert than a homecoming.

Here's what you need. Emily Ann Roberts plays the Tennessee Theatre in Knoxville on Saturday, Feb. 6, at 8 p.m., with Kenny Whitmire opening. The room holds 1,631. Tickets are through Ticketmaster. The date was announced Oct. 20, and the tour's public on-sale has already come and gone, so if you're planning on going, now is the time.

Knoxville knows the backstory. In 2015, Roberts was a high school student from here who went all the way to the finale of Season 9 of NBC's "The Voice," finishing runner-up on Team Blake, as WBIR has chronicled. Her press bio puts the roots even further back: in her hometown of Knoxville, she was raised on mountain music and bluegrass. Since then she's built a career the slow way — a debut album, *Can't Hide Country*, in 2023, and years of opening slots, including time on the road with her old coach Blake Shelton.

The tour takes its name from her new EP, *Thread*, a five-song set that features "Laundry," according to The Music Universe. The Thread Tour is her first-ever headline run, and coverage of the announcement describes it hitting 23 cities in spring 2027. The itinerary includes her Ryman Auditorium headline debut in Nashville and a stop at Billy Bob's Texas, but it's the Knoxville date that gets singled out as the hometown show.

For a lot of people in this town, it'll feel less like a concert than a homecoming

That makes the choice of room meaningful. The Tennessee Theatre is the kind of place where you went for the big occasions — a touring show, a holiday tradition, the night something felt important. Booking an artist's first headline tour into a 1,631-seat theater, rather than a club, is a vote of confidence that the hometown crowd will turn out, and Knoxville has a long track record of showing up for its own.

Opening the night is Kenny Whitmire, one of several guests rotating through select dates on the run. Getting there early is worth it on a bill like this; openers on a first headline tour are often the artist's own picks, and this is a chance to hear who she's championing.

A few practical notes: the show is listed for an 8 p.m. start, it's a Saturday in early February, and downtown parking near Gay Street fills on big nights, so build in some time. Tickets are on sale now through the Ticketmaster link above.

Roberts spent years singing other people's openers and other people's stages. On Feb. 6, the marquee on Gay Street will carry her name — and the room will be full of people who remember when she was just the kid from Knoxville on TV.

Sources: Emily Ann Roberts co-anchors Live at Five at 4 – WBIR (wbir.com); Life after The Voice: a crazy ride for Emily Ann Roberts – WBIR (wbir.com); Emily Ann Roberts spins an uncommon thread on upcoming EP – The Music Universe (themusicuniverse.com); The Thread Tour kicks off early next year – The Music Universe (themusicuniverse.com); Thread - EP – Apple Music (music.apple.com); Emily Ann Roberts press bio – 117 Group (117group.com); Emily Ann Roberts, Blake Shelton Back to the Honky Tonk tour – WBIR (wbir.com); Emily Ann Roberts at Tennessee Theatre – JamBase (jambase.com)