Free Instruction in banjo & Black roots music for Black-identifiying community members ages 12 and up! Click here for info.
Kickoff Square & Contra Dance
March 19 • 6:30-8:30PM • Southside Preservation HallFWAAMFest begins with a free square and contra dance for all ages led by African American Dance Caller Pathways, to a live band featuring fiddlers Isaiah Sibi and Shanice Richards.
Main Festival Day
March 20 • Noon-10:00PM • Southside Preservation HallThe main festival day is jam-packed with performances and cultural sessions from acclaimed artists.
Documentary Screening
March 21 • 2:00PM • Modern Art Museum of Fort WorthAfter a beginner Black banjoist learns about the instrument’s forgotten history, it launches her on a lyrical journey to reclaim what has been lost.
FWAAMFest is presented in collaboration with the Smithsonian Folklife Festival.
FWAAMFest is presented in collaboration with the Smithsonian Folklife Festival.
FWAAMFest 2027 is supported by in part by the Mellon Foundation.
FWAAMFest is supported in part by the Mellon Foundation.
Roots music is a broad term that for us includes styles including folk, bluegrass, old time, early blues, and Americana. The sound of this music is considered by many to be quintessentially American, yet the extensive Black contributions - from the creation of the banjo and fiddle traditions to the roots of social dances performed alongside the music - are not widely acknowledged. FWAAMFest aims to change that, unsettling the often-forgotten and suppressed contributions made by Black folks.
Tufara Waller Muhammad's presents her interactive session "Soundtrack of Resistance: Music and Social Movements in the U.S. South." Photo by Justin Ikpo.
Martha Redbone. Photo by Jordan Brown.
Kelvin Thomas. Photo by Ben Noey, Jr.
Photo by Justin Ikpo.
FWAAMFest's African American Dance Caller Pathways pilot cohort and instructors in conversation during a festival panel. From left right: Phil Jamison, Becky Hill, Briar, Audra Scott, Carol July, Dr. Clover Johnson. Photo by Jessica Waffles.
Jake Blount (right) featuring Ethan Hawkins. Photo by Jessica Waffles.
Killer Bug and his band. Photo by Jessica Waffles.
Anne Harris. Photo by Ben Noey, Jr.
Sable Sisters. Photo by Justin Ikpo.
Justin Robinson. Photo by Justin Ikpo.
Buffalo Nichols. Photo by Justin Ikpo.
Briar (right) featuring Joe Seamons. Photo by Justin Ikpo.
Sunny War. Photo by Justin Ikpo.
Lady A and band. Photo by Justin Ikpo.
Cactus Rose NYC. Photo by Justin Ikpo.
(From left to right) Amanda Ewing, Anne Harris, and Darcy Ford-James in their session "making violins, making history: Black women in Lutherie and Fiddle"
Help ensure the future of the Fort African American Roots Music Festival: Make a donation or become a FWAAMFest sponsor!
FWAAMFest is a program of
