Fwaamfest DECOLONIZING THE MUSIC ROOM PRESENTS THE 6TH ANNUAL
FORT WORTH AFRICAN AMERICAN ROOTS MUSIC FESTIVAL
2026 Event Report
On Saturday, March 21st, 2026, at Southside Preservation Hall, the Fort Worth African American Roots Music Festival celebrated its sixth year. FWAAMFest was inspired by the work of Black roots music figures around the country creating spaces for the reclamation of Black culture and history that has been long obscured and pushed to the margins. Since FWAAMFest’s launch our cultural advocay and education has solidified recognition within the Fort Worth and North Texas community. This year we expanded FWAAMFest by introduceing two new festival components. Our newest initiative, African American Dance Caller Pathways (AADCP), reconnects novice Black-idenitfied callers to the Black traditions at the heart of American square and contra dances performed alongside roots music. We also formed a partnership with the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth to present a live documentary experience of German Soul, co-produced by Grammy Award-winning festival headliner Justin Robinson. This year was packed with joyful moments of community connection and learning experiences. As always, we could not do this work without the support of our sponsors, donors, partners, volunteers, and artists. Thank you for another great year!
Sincerely,
Brandi Waller-Pace Founder/Organizer. Fort Worth African American Roots Music Festival
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2026 Achievements: Increased attendance Improvement in data collection New festival add-ons African American Dance Caller Pathways German Soul: A Live Documentary Experience at the Modern Collaboration with the Smithsonian Center for Folkife and Cultural Heritage
ATTENDEES 476
Total Across the FWAAMFest Weekend
84
277
FWAAMFest Main Day
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Free Friday Kickoff Square & Contra Dance German Soul at The Modern
With the addition of the Square & Contra Dance and the German Soul live documentary experience at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, FWAAMFest attendance more than doubled over 2025. 17.5% of attendees came from beyond the DFW metroplex - other Texas cities and out of state.
Photo by Jessica Waffles
Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex Cities Arlington, Bedford, Benbrook, Coppell, Dallas, Farmers Branch, Fort Worth, Granbury, Grand Prairie, Irving, Mansfield, Pantego, Plano, Rowlett, Saginaw, Southlake, Waxahachie
Texas Cities Beyond DFW Austin, Buda, Cedar Park, Houston, Pearland, Troup
States Outside of Texas Arkansas, California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington
17 20
DFW Metroplex cities States outside of Texas
7 82
Texas cities beyond DFW Attendee ZIP Codes
Through live music, storytelling, and shared space across generations, FWAAMFest creates room for connection, learning, and joy.
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Joe Seamons The Rhapsody Project
FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS
Singer and guitarist Sunny War brought her unique Punk-Folk sound to the stage, making her FWAAMFest debut.
Grammy Award- winning musician Justin Robinson returned to the FWAAMFest after, 3 years after his last festival appearance. His set included music he performed for the soundtrack of the critically-acclaimed movie Sinners.
FWAAMFest is what grounds Black folx in the beauty of Fort Worth. It’s a reminder that magic can not only happen in this city, it belongs in this city.
Fort Worth’s own Kelvin Thomas played his first FWAAMFest set in 2026.
Jalyn Gordon Community Activistpreneur
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Photos by Justin Ikpo
FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS FWAAMFEST is our family's favorite event of the year in Fort Worth!!! Alexander Montalvo Grassroots Organizer
Roots and blues fiddle player and singer-songwriter Anne Harris. Top right and left photos by Justin Ikpo
Fort Worth-born and raised, Blues giant Killer Bee wowed the crowd with his powerhouse vocals.
Afro-Indigenous American vocalist, songwriter, composer, and United States Artist Fellow Martha Redbone.
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Photo by Jordan Brown
Kandia Crazyhorse, leader of the Afro-Indigneous group Cactus Rose NY who performed their first FWAAMFest.
Steve Martin Banjo Award-winning multi instrumentalistt and scholar Jake Blount returned to FWAAMFest for a third time.
It's a fantastic opportunity to hear some incredible music and amazing storytelling. A huge deal for Fort Worth and our community. Blake Hestir Attendee
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Blues revolutionary Buffalo Nichols graced the FWAAMFest stage for the first time this year. Blount and Nichols photos by Justin Ikpo
The historical knowledge of roots music passed down through FWAAMFest is a special movement happening right here in North Texas. Jessica Waffles KXT Contributor/Radio Host, Photographer
(From left to right) Amanda Ewing, the first an only Black woman violin builder in the U.S. historical record; Anne Harris, who was Ewing’s first violin commission; and musician/educator Darcy Ford-James, who plays one of Ewing’s first builds came together for discussion and music sharing in “Making Violins, Making History: Black Women in Lutherie & Fiddle.”
Cultural organizer and activist Tufara Waller Muhammad instructs and interacts with the crowd during her session, “Soundtrack of Resistance: Music & Social Movements in the U.S. South.”
JD Lenoir (left) and Jake Blount (right) shared stories and songs in their panel, “Making Music from the Land of Our Ancestors.” Photos by Jessica Waffles
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AFRICAN AMERICAN
DANCE CALLER PATHWAYS Piloted this year, FWAAMFest initiative African American Dance Caller Pathways (AADCP) connects experienced instructors to Blackidentified aspiring dance callers. The cohort learns dance calling along with the Black cultural and historical roots of traditional square and contra dance. Black culture’s place within American contra and squares dance has been marginalized, and the once large number of Black callers has dwindled over the centuries. AADCP trains a cohort to add to that number and fosters traditional dance and music scenes grounded in Black tradition. AADCP’s pilot year was made possible by the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Heritage, Mid-America Arts Alliance, Center for Cultural Vibrancy, Country Dance & Song Society, the Rhapsody Project, and the Fort Worth Promotion and Development Fund.
INSTRUCTORS (L TO R) Phil Jamison Nationally-known Dance Caller, Old-time Musician, Flatfoot Dancer; Author, ”Hoedowns, Reels, and Frolics: Roots and Branches of Southern Appalachian Dance” Becky Hill Percussive Dancer, Square Dance Caller, Choreographer, Community Organizer, Educator; Programming Manager, National Council for the Traditional Arts Dr. Clover Johnson Dance caller, Educator, Co-Creator, “Dancing in the Well: Art for Healing Trauma”; Organizer, Southern Illinois Contra Dance
PILOT COHORT (L TO R)
Briar Singer; Music Educator; Structural Leadership Team, The Rhapsody Project Carol July Musician, Composer, Retired Music Educator Audra Scott Vocalist, Musician, Music Educator
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Color Photos by Justin Ikpo and Some Sweet Photography
AACP TIMELINE September 2025 to February 2026 Participants met monthly via Zoom. Instructors collaboratively developed a curriculum for following AADCP years. January 2026 Participants met in person to called a dance geared toward music educators. March 2026 Participants sat on and AADCP discussion panel at FWAAMFest.
Fiddlers Isaiah Sibi (left) and Shanice Richards (right) led the band.
Participants sat on a panel FWAAMFest to share their experiences in AADCP.
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A Live Documentary Experience at The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth This year FWAAMFest introduced its first live documentary experience, in conjunction with the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, featuring German Soul. Created by Grammy-winning musician and ethnobotanist Justin Robinson and documentary filmmaker D.L. Anderson, German Soul explores the surprising German origins of classic Southern soul food dishes and what those origins mean for Southern food lovers and Black American identity, health, and cultural understanding. Unlike the typical film screening format, the event was a combination of film, live, narration, and a live music score. It was followed by a talkback with Q&A faciliated by Dallas-based writer and Black food and cultural historian Deah Berry-Mitchell.
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Volunteers
FWAAMFest Team Lillian Werbin/Sturdy Roots LLC, Festival Assistant Ta’Niah Parker, Festival Intern Chauna Lawson, Digital Promotions and Marketing Consulant Sara Nesbit, Administrative Support Volunteer Southside Preservation Hall Staff Matthew Williams, Hall Director Jeff Gibbon, Executive Director/Chapel Sound Mary Hardamon, Event/Volunteer Manager Sheri Bush, Operations Manager Ty Macklin, Sound Engineer Shiny Box Pictures Alex Vorse, Producer/Director Travis Beverly, Director/Cinematographer Justin Ikpo, Photographer Colton Blake, Main Stage Emcee
Jessica Jones Ian Connally Domanique Johnson Jorge Guajardo Erial Smith Jeremy Pope Quetzal Guerra Arianna Bonnie Norman EJ Carrion Christopher Rhodes Terry Koontz Keisha Martin Cecilia Peterson Angel H Raven Hill
Food & Beverage FWAAMFEST Fort Worth Bevs Cooking NOLA TEAMAlways Chicken Chris
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Photo by Justin Ikpo
Thank you to our 2026 sponsors and partners!
FWAAMFest 2026 was presented in collaboration with the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. FWAAMFest was one of only 30-something festivals chosen for Of the People: The Smithsonian Festival of Festivals, a series of co-curated programs and exchanges showcasing the nation’s remarkable cultural landscape, presented at local festivals in several states and territories.
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