ABOUT fwaamfest
The sound of old-time music is considered by many to be quintessentially American, yet the extensive Black influence - from the creation of the banjo and fiddle traditions to the roots of social dances performed alongside the music - is not widely acknowledged. Many still consider Black folks playing the banjo and fiddling as anomalies, rather than musicians continuing their own generations-old cultural traditions. The Fort Worth African American Roots Music Festival (FWAAMFest) aims to change that. Featuring a show-stopping lineup of award-winning artists from across North America, the festival features performances, educational sessions, and jamming celebrating the central role of blackness in American roots music. It is the only major city festival of its kind in the United States, Black-led and centered on Black artists reclaiming their place in roots music forms through preservation and innovation.
Brandi Waller-Pace Founder, Organizer
Brandi Waller-Pace, Founding Director of the nonprofit Decolonizing the Music Room, conceived the idea for the Fort Worth African American Roots Music Festival from her work in music education, racial equity, research, and learning and performing old time music. Inspired by the work of Black roots music figures such as Rhiannon Giddens, and Justin Robinson; events such as the Black Banjo Gathering and the Affrolachian On-Time Gathering (also known as “The Thang”); and collaborations with peers such as Lillian Werbin, Jake Blount, and Dr. Sais Kamalidiin, Brandi planned to launch FWAAMFest in the fall of 2019. After the shutdown, the event switched to a virtual format and launched in March of 2020 in partnership with Shiny Box Pictures and Southside Preservation Hall as a program of Decolonizing the Music Room. The festival is now in its third in-person year.
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