Emily Ann Roberts
A Homecoming to Remember
In Concert • Thompson-Boling Arena • February 28th
By Randy Patterson, Boomerocity.com
February is a big country music month for Knoxville with the Blake Shelton concert hitting our Thompson-Boling at Food City Center on the 28th. The opening act for Blake is up-and-coming country artist – and Knoxville’s own – Emily Ann Roberts. She and Blake met on Season 9 of NBC’s The Voice, where Emily Ann became a fan favorite and finalist on Team Blake Shelton. Arguably, she could very well be the next Dolly Parton. Time will tell.
Simultaneously, Emily has new music that will undoubtedly be part of her show this month.
Boomerocity chatted briefly with “Knoxville’s daughter” about the tour and new music.
“I released a new single. It’s called ‘Easy Does It,’ and I love the song so much and it’s been really, really neat to see folks make it their own.” The proof of a song’s popularity is, in fact, when they “make it their own.” Emily talks about the specialness of songs.
“You know, the songs always mean something specific to me when I write them and when I sing them. But it never fails to amaze me – when I put them out online and into the world and I play them live – it shows how folks make them their own and they relate to them because of their specific life experiences and stories and memories.”
Bringing it back to “Easy Does It,” Emily adds, “It seems like folks have really grabbed a hold of this one and made it their own and that’s been really neat to see. But it’s all about how a lot of times as women, we feel like love should be this roller coaster of highs and lows and maybe that’s thanks to movies and TV shows and on again, off again relationships. That seems to be what we gravitate towards, and then when we find somebody that is loving and trustworthy and faithful, we’re like, ‘Is something wrong here?’ It almost raises a red flag because it’s so easy, and I know that’s how I felt when I met my husband, and I think that’s how a lot of women feel after they’ve gone through traumatic relationships when they actually find the good ones.”
When reminded of the comment that she could very well be the next Dolly Parton, she replied, “I love being compared to her because she is one of my biggest influences and she’s just incredible.”
With the conversation turning towards talking about touring with Blake Shelton this year, she shared what fans can expect from the Knoxville show.
“Well, we do get to see each other quite a bit. I mean, I have opened up for plenty of folks that I never even get to meet. So that is definitely a normal thing in this industry. But Blake is so kind and so supportive, and I do get to see him quite a bit when we’re on tour together. And I’ll tell you, last year being on the Back to the Honky Tonk tour, it was a dream come true. I mean, I never wanted it to end. I cried and cried when that tour ended because it was so much fun, and the crowds were so great, and everybody’s teams were so great.
“But I was just thrilled when he asked me to come out for the Friends and Heroes tour this year. We are hitting a lot of really, really neat places. Some places that I’ve never played before, but then other places that I have played a whole bunch. And one of those being my hometown; we are getting to play at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, which is wild because that is like, I mean, other than when folks sing at Neyland, but Thompson-Boling is like THE concert venue in East Tennessee.”
Showing us just how personal that show is to her, she shared, “It’s just is crazy to think that I’m going to finally get to sing there myself. I remember the first concert I ever went to there. I won tickets calling into WIVK in Knoxville, and I got to see Brad Paisley and Scotty McCreery and The Band Perry. I stood in line to get my ticket signed by The Band Perry after the show. They were doing meet and greets. It’s wild to think that now all these years later, I’m going to get to play there.”
She shares a bit of a surprise about the show on the 28th.
“That’s going to be a really special night. And not only is, of course, Blake a part of this tour, but he’s bringing all of his friends and heroes out. Deana Carter, Trace Adkins, Craig Morgan – they’re all a part of the show, too.”
Tickets are still available if you haven’t gotten your tickets yet. You can get them at Ticketmaster or a reputable ticket reseller.
The rest of this interview can be accessed on the Boomerocity YouTube channel or on all major podcast platforms.