My guest on this episode is Brandi Waller-Pace. Based in Texas Brandi (she/they) is the founder and organiser of the Fort Worth African-American Roots Music Festival (FWAAMFEST). Brandi also founded the nonprofit organization Decolonizing the Music Room in 2019, with a mission “to center Black, Brown, Indigenous and Asian voices in music education, research and performance.” Brandi holds Bachelor and Masters degrees in Jazz Studies from Howard University, and taught music to elementary school children for over a decade.

Brandi does an incredible amount of fascinating and important work as an educator, event organiser, speaker and musician. We discuss how Brandi came to old time music and why she has a keen interest in the history of the banjo, as well as finding out more about her experiences as a Black woman working in music. Brandi also told me a bit about HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges & Universities) in the US and how attending an HBCU benefited her own development as a young adult. This was a thoroughly absorbing, eye-opening conversation – I learned a lot and I hope you will too.

Podcast theme music ("The Old Ways - instrumental") was written by Maria Wallace with musicians Jay Bradberry (fiddle) Mike Giverin (mandolin) Lucille Williams (double bass) & Phil Stott (guitar). Copyright © and ℗ 2025 Maria Wallace. All rights reserved. This episode also features unreleased clips of Brandi Waller-Pace playing & singing the traditional (public domain) song Red Rocking Chair, with her permission.

Links:

https://www.brandipacemusic.com/

https://www.decolonizingthemusicroom.org/

https://www.fwaamfest.com/

Follow Brandi on social media:

https://www.instagram.com/brandipacemusic/

https://www.instagram.com/decolonizingthemusicroom/

https://www.instagram.com/fwaamfest/

https://www.facebook.com/DecolonizingtheMusicRoom

https://www.facebook.com/fwaamfest

Check out Brandi’s singing and playing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8wEV9pzmdM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwwIVHCrtZ4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAtbuLYR2vA

True history of the banjo:

Uncovering the History of the Banjo with Rhiannon Giddens: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiP8Tfa8bB8

Why this instrument explains Black American folk music, with Jake Blount:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrRfOzhM2AE

An article by Martin Urbach (on DTMR website) about harmful songs:

https://medium.com/@martinurbach/you-might-be-left-with-silence-when-youre-done-the-white-fear-of-taking-racist-songs-out-of-89ecdc300ee5

More on the history of HBCUs:

https://hbcufirst.com/resources/hbcu-history-timeline

90min PBS documentary film:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FscDlqZg5dk