Garden Grow

A truly singular voice in modern country music, Emily Ann Roberts is the rare artist whose rise to stardom has only brought her closer to her roots. In the last year alone, the Knoxville-bred singer/songwriter has earned ACM and CMA Awards New Artist nominations, landed on coveted lists like Opry NextStage and MusicRow's Next Big Thing Artists Classes Of 2026, lit up arenas across the country on tour with superstars such as Cody Johnson and Brad Paisley, and just made her much-anticipated debut on the Opry stage at its 100th year anniversary celebration.

The latest addition to a catalog including her widely celebrated 2023 debut album Can't Hide Country, Thread is Roberts' six-track EP of pure, classic country, all freshly home-mown and earthy and alive with the shimmering beauty of her voice. The Tennessee native first found stardom at just 17 as the runner-up on Season 9 of The Voice, then went on to further endear herself to country fans with hit tracks like the heart-clutching smash "Stuck On Me," plus the ethereal Heartbreak R&B-saturated "Easy Does It." Now with her ascendant career momentum—and impressive track record of nearly half a billion streams so far—Roberts is on the verge of taking her extraordinary musicianship and artistry to the next level.

Mainly produced by Frank Rogers, Thread brings an effervescent energy to the time-honored musical traditions of Roberts' East Tennessee upbringing: the barn dances, church sing-alongs, and backyard cookouts where she soaked up her earliest musical lessons from her beloved family. To that end, the EP opens with the confessional slow-burn of "Messy," an ingenious showcase for Roberts' stripped-back vocals, followed by the saga of "Good Girls (Love Their Mothers)" and "Mama's Song," two tracks that trade in snapshots of the life and family that Roberts holds so dear.

Fiercely committed to her calling, Roberts soon booked a gig at a local Mexican restaurant, where she played a three-hour set to a packed crowd at just 14. From there, she began booking gigs at small-town fairs and festivals in East Tennessee, where she carved an artist and songwriter with deep and abiding Kentucky roots. But even as she draws on those influences and traditions, Roberts also aims to keep stepping into the future, writing songs in a range of styles from the edgy alt-pop of her early years to the pure, up-to-the-minute country of her newly minted solo material.

After signing to RECORDS/Sony Music Nashville in 2025, Roberts made her label debut with the Memory Lane EP, followed by the release of Thread this year. A bold and fearless artist into song craft, Thread is a work of artistry by an artist in full command of her talent. "We recorded the EP live at Music City's RCA Studio A," says Roberts of the creative partnership with Rogers, "which helped capture the natural chemistry with a band of musicians I'd played with over the years. We wanted to hear the love and the joy I feel in that room, and we went into the final mix quickly to keep it fresh."

Also featuring "When I Do," a witty yet wistful portrait of post-breakup denial, Thread endlessly sparkles with the warmth of Roberts' compassionate storytelling. The EP's brightly detailed piece of autobiography, "Garden Grow," offers up a brightly detailed piece of autobiography, letting listeners in on the life she's built with her husband. "People ask me all the time how I manage to maintain my career, tend a garden, keep up a home, and all the rest. The truth is, it all comes down to love. We pour our hearts into everything we do, and that's what makes our world go round."

As her music finds its way into more and more lives, Roberts has encountered an increasing number of fans of all ages turning up at concerts. "At my shows, I'll look out and see everyone from five-year-olds to 75-year-olds, which is so special to me," she says. "The older generations tell me how I remind them of the music they grew up on, but for the younger ones, it's something completely new." After completing a UK/European run with Cody Johnson—marking her first return overseas since her rapturously received appearance at C2C: Country to Country."