Brandi Waller-Pace, a native of Atlanta, taught elementary school in Fort Worth. “I taught stringed instruments, and after hearing the banjo, I wanted to get one. I learned to play in the claw hammer style.”
They began playing in a string band in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, playing backup guitar and banjo when needed while they were still learning. Brandi was mesmerized when they attended the Affrolachian On-Time Music Gathering presented by Dr. Dena Jennings, a gourd banjo builder based in Nasons, Virginia (the event is affectionately known as “The Thang”).
“It was my first time around a significant group of other Black folks who played that kind of music.” They began attending other old-time banjo gatherings and listening to artists like the Carolina Chocolate Drops.
Brandi attended many festivals over the next few years. At the Augusta Heritage Center, they took part in a session in which participants discussed Black representation and integrating spaces versus creating spaces, and the creative wheels in Brandi’s head began turning. “I love creating new spaces, and I also thought it would be nice to have folks come to me instead of me having to fly somewhere.” That’s when the seed for the Fort Worth African American Roots Music Festival was planted.
As someone who presents workshops and speaks nationally and internationally, creating this particular festival was a natural thing for Brandi, who holds a BM and MM in Jazz Studies from Howard University and has co-written music curriculum and participated in district and community work in racial and system educational equity during her twelve-year tenure as a public-school music educator. They served on the Texas African Studies Course Curriculum Advisory Team in 2019 and 2020, which helped formulate curriculum standards for the first state-approved African American course. Brandi also serves on the Board of Directors for Folk Alliance International and is an accomplished musician who strongly emphasizes jazz and early American roots music.
The festival is a program of Decolonizing the Music Room, an organization that Brandi founded and serves as the executive director. The mission centers on Black, Brown, Indigenous, and Asian voices in music education, research, and performance. According to the organization’s website, Decolonizing the Music Room accomplishes that mission by providing training and educational content for educators and creating community programming for people of all ages.
“I began planning the first FWAAMFest in 2019, then Covid hit, and plans changed,” explains Brandi. The first festival premiered virtually in 2021. “I partnered with a friend who had a video production company, Shiny Box Pictures.” In 2022, the first in-person event was held at the Southside Preservation Hall in Fort Worth, a historic venue that dates back to the early 1920s.
In addition to the partnership with the Southside Preservation Hall, Brandi cultivated some strong partnerships to present the festival, including a partnership with Lillian Werbin, co-owner and president of Elderly Instruments, based in East Lansing, Michigan. “I met Lillian through festivals I attended, and we even shared an Airbnb and rental car at Clifftop,” says Brandi. “Lillian has been an important partner in the development of this festival.” Other corporate partners include Ear Trumpet Labs, Universal Music Group’s Task Force for Meaningful Change, and Fan Alliance. Several public entities and organizations have come on board to support the festival, including the Black Owned Business of DFW, Communities Foundation of Texas, the Fort Worth Tourism Public Improvement District, and the Texas Commission on the Arts. Brandi has also garnered support from cultural organizer, artist, and educator Sister Tufara Waller Muhammad, and the Datule’ Artist Collective. “Fundraising for this event is necessary and will happen until the wheels come off,” Brandi states.
This year’s festival will be held on Saturday, March 15. As the event organizer and founder of FWAAMFest, Brandi says that the festival will feature a show-stopping line-up of award-winning artists, along with educational sessions and jamming – all to celebrate the central role of blackness in American roots music. “Fort Worth is one of few major city festivals of its kind in the United States. This is a Black-led festival centered on Black artists who are reclaiming their place in roots music forms through preservation and innovation.”
This year's lineup includes Dom Flemons as the headliner act, Yasmin Williams, and Kyshona. “We have another strong lineup of artists this year, which is very exciting,” says Brandi. “We’ll have everything from old-time string bands and early country and blues to artists who infuse their roots music with rap and soul.” Workshops will be held in the Rose Chapel, including a workshop on “Black Cowboy Musical and Cultural Legacies,” presented by Dom Flemons. Other workshops include “Black Appalachian Music and Instrument Building” by Dr. Dena Jennings and a rhythm bones workshop presented jointly by artists Kafari and Demeanor. Dr. Maya Brown-Boateng will present a workshop on “Black Banjo History and Reclamation.”
Click here for more information on the Fort Worth African American Roots Music Festival.
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