‘We need space for joy.’ Fort Worth festival celebrates the influence of Black musicians
A Fort Worth music festival will celebrate the contributions of African Americans in early American folk music.
The Fort Worth African American Roots Music Festival features 13 folk musicians playing a variety of music from the early to mid-1900s, including blues, bluegrass, folk, and gospel.
The festival takes place on Saturday, March 15, from 12 to 10 p.m. at Southside Preservation Hall, 1519 Lipscomb St.
Brandi Waller-Pace, founder of the festival, says the story of folk music is one that has been suppressed from many Black Americans, which has prevented many from learning about themselves and their place in American history, she says.
“What people really need to understand is it’s our story collectively,” Waller-Pace said. “It’s a North American story, an United States story, an American musical history story, and this is music and culture and knowledge that’s relevant to all of us, because it’s so core and ubiquitous in what we think of as American tradition.”
When she taught general music in Fort Worth ISD she wanted to find a better way to serve her students. In 2019, she helped start the nonprofit Decolonizing the Music Room, which centered Black, Hispanic, Indigenous, and Asian voices in music education, research and performance.
The organization has various programs, such as the Community Visiting Artist Educator Program, which brings experts to Fort Worth from around the country for workshops on different music disciplines. Additionally, the organization’s Black, Brown, Indigenous, and Asian Music Symposium gathers people to present all forms of music studies, research, and teaching, and to find community.
In 2021, the organization started the music festival, which was virtual, and every year afterward it has been hosted in person at the Southside Preservation Hall, which Waller-Pace plans to make the festival’s permanent home.
Waller-Pace hopes to continue the festival, first through expanding its community partnerships and grassroots support and finding additional financial support beyond existing grants from the city, the Fort Worth Tourism Promotion Improvement District, and Texas Commission of the Arts.
“We need space for joy and gathering together in celebration,” Waller-Pace said. “People talk about the scientific benefits of music and catching live music and all this stuff, but it’s just us experiencing joy together as humans is really the biggest takeaway of the artists, staff, volunteers, and the audience.”
General admission is $50, $35 for educators and school staff, $30 for students, and $20 for children ages 3-17. There is no admission fee for children under 3. For more information go to fwaamfest.com.
This story was originally published March 12, 2025 at 2:13 PM.
