When Karen Collins steps onto the Walker Theatre stage this month, she won’t just be performing. She’ll be carrying a legacy–one stitched together from generations of voices, a lifetime of service, and a belief that music can bring people together in ways few other things can.
“I come from a diverse background,” Collins said during an exclusive interview with the Chattanooga News Chronicle, reflecting on the musical lineage that shaped her. “I like the theater. I like classical music. I like gospel–I love gospel actually–jazz and the blues and funk and rock… I’m literally carrying legacy in my voice.”
That legacy will take center stage at 7:30 p.m. on March 28, when Collins’ celebrated Velvet Chair Experience joins forces with the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera for a one-night-only performance at the Walker Theatre, located at 399 McCallie Ave. in Chattanooga.
The evening will blend orchestral richness with jazz, soul, and timeless classics, marking a bold expansion of a show that began as an intimate speakeasy-style evening at the Bessie Smith Cultural Center and has since grown into one of Chattanooga’s most beloved musical events.
The Velvet Chair Experience is unlike a traditional concert. Audience members select the songs in advance, and a few are invited to sit in the iconic velvet chairs onstage as Collins sings directly to them.
She never knows what she’ll be asked to perform–Etta James, Sade, Nat King Cole, gospel hymns, Broadway standards–and that unpredictability is part of the magic.
“The music we celebrate is really the soundtrack of their lives,” she said. “I can literally see their memories by their emotional expression.”
One woman once told her, “I fell in love with my husband again.” Moments like that, Collins says, are why she insists on honoring every note of the original recordings.
“In that moment in time, I am thinking for them… I want to make sure the person sitting in that chair recognizes that song–every note, every intonation.”
Bringing such a personal experience into a larger venue is no small task. But Collins and the CSO are determined to preserve the show’s signature closeness.
They’re even adding a small dance floor.
“For a song like At Last, if we have a few couples that picked that, I’m gonna bring them up close and let them dance… It’s your moment to walk out and listen to your song with a couple hundred–couple thousand–you know, of your closest friends.”
The collaboration is part of the CSO’s 2025–26 season, Reflection, the first chapter of a three-season journey titled Unspoken: Our Story Through Sound.
“We seek out ways to collaborate with local talent and Karen was a great fit for us as she regularly sings with one of our musicians,” said Susan Caminez, executive director of the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera. “She has created something truly special with the Velvet Chair Experience and the symphony is honored to put her on a larger stage to highlight her star power. She’s magnetic, a dynamic performer, and incredible person. It’s going to be an incredible evening you won’t want to miss.”
Long before she became known for her velvet chairs and powerhouse vocals, Collins was a community leader, minister, and advocate.
She served in the city’s Office of Multicultural Affairs, directed the Homeless Coalition, and traveled to China as part of an economic exchange–singing jazz and gospel at night after meeting with dignitaries during the day.
“It was like the language barrier wasn’t even there,” she recalled. “What comes from the heart reaches the heart.”
Her faith remains central to her work.
“I’m a licensed and ordained minister of the gospel… People see this all over my branding: I love Jesus and jazz, because I do.”
The idea for the Velvet Chair Experience came to her unexpectedly while she was still working in city government.
Standing in a downtown conference room overlooking the Bessie Smith Cultural Center, she felt a spark.
“In that moment, the Lord showed me the Velvet Chair Experience… the velvet curtains, the stage, the lighting, the people… and instantly He gave me the name.”
She pitched the idea, “The Bessie” took a chance, and audiences haven’t stopped coming since.
For Collins, the upcoming performance is more than a milestone–it’s a chance to bring people together across backgrounds, generations, and artistic tastes during a shared evening of music and connection in one of Chattanooga’s historic performance spaces.
“Everybody likes some kind of music,” she said. “Being in a space like that will allow people, if nothing but for that time, to know we are the same.”
She hopes families will come, newcomers will come, and longtime supporters will bring someone who’s never experienced the show before.
“If you build it, people will come. But if people don’t come, we don’t get to do shows like this.”