Each time Fort Worth musician Brandi Waller-Pace steps onto a local stage to perform, she strives to spotlight how Black artists shaped Americana music.<\/p>\n
Her efforts have been successful through the growth of her annual Fort Worth African American Roots Music Festival<\/a> in the Near Southside, which hit its fifth year in March. Americana is a genre that blends roots music styles like country, blues, gospel and rock.<\/p>\n Waller-Pace\u2019s mission will soon reach a national stage as she and several local artists represent Fort Worth as the\u00a0Spotlight City for the 25th AmericanaFest<\/a> in Nashville this week.<\/p>\n Americana Music Association officials select one city, state or region each year to recognize its contributions to the music genre. They consider a place\u2019s current roster of artists and the resources and venues available to support its music scene.<\/p>\n Fort Worth receives the honor for the first time as the city hits more than 1 million residents<\/a>. Past recipients have included the state of Arkansas a<\/a>nd the city of Memphis.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of the work that I\u2019ve been doing has been toward really engaging the Fort Worth community, but turning people externally toward Fort Worth is a big sense of responsibility,\u201d Waller-Pace said.<\/p>\n For Tom Martens, vice president of creative, fiIm and music for Visit Fort Worth, recognition at one of the country\u2019s top stages for Americana music is a testament to the city\u2019s rich musical history and years of work by local artists and venues.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got this breadth of music and people, so to have the spotlight put on us is really cool,\u201d he said. \u201cFor them to select Fort Worth, not Dallas-Fort Worth, is massive.\u201d<\/p>\n Road to recognition<\/p>\n Fort Worth is widely celebrated for serving as the birthplace of Western swing<\/a> and the launchpad for several musical pioneers, such as Ornette Coleman<\/a> and Van Cliburn<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the past decade, the city was in the spotlight for establishing Grammy Award-winning artist Leon Bridges<\/a> and Academy Award-nominated singer-songwriter Abraham Alexander.<\/a><\/p>\n Efforts to grow Fort Worth\u2019s national presence were elevated when Visit Fort Worth launched its presence at AmericanaFest five years ago, Martens said. The organization took nine artists the first year for an unofficial showcase at Tennessee Brew Works, he added.<\/p>\n In early June, directors with the Americana Music Association visited Fort Worth and were guided through top venues: Billy Bob\u2019s Texas, Niles City Sound, Record Town, Tannahill\u2019s Tavern & Music Hall, The Post and Tulips FTW.<\/p>\n Officials highlighted resources available for musicians, including the Amplify 817 showcase<\/a>, Hear Fort Worth and the Sound Care program that connects artists with preventive health care services.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWe took them out to a show at Tulips, and they got to see how the community supported each other and how they came out for our artists,\u201d Martens said.<\/p>\n By late July, the festival\u2019s organizers made up their mind<\/a>: Fort Worth was the next best city to spotlight.<\/p>\n Fort Worth musicians take on Nashville<\/p>\n AmericanaFest is a five-day multi-venue production focused on performers, panels, seminars, parties and musical showcases, similar to SXSW in Austin.<\/p>\n As part of the spotlight honor, Cowtown leaders will sit on the \u201cFort Worth, Texas: Creating a Scene\u201d panel Sept. 10 to discuss the city\u2019s creative evolution and ways to grow community investments. Other panels with Fort Worth artists will follow during the remainder of the festival.<\/p>\n Fort Worth musicians Waller-Pace, Jack Barksdale, Claire Hinkle, Summer Dean<\/a> and Matthew McNeal<\/a> take to the stage Sept. 11 at Analog in the Hutton Hotel for an official showcase. Alexander will perform as the secret headliner, Martens confirmed to the Report.<\/p>\n McNeal spent years building his musical reputation in Fort Worth. When he heard the city was being considered for a spotlight at AmericanaFest, he didn\u2019t hesitate to throw his hat in the ring. He plans to perform new songs from his latest album \u201cHIGHLONESOME.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI always make a point to keep my ear to the ground and work with the city to see what I can help with to champion the music community,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Fort Worth native musician Delbert McClinton, who has earned four Grammy Awards and been inducted into the Texas Heritage Songwriters Hall of Fame, will be honored during the showcase.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to make sure (McClinton) is properly recognized for all he\u2019s done, for being a musical driving force in Fort Worth for so long,\u201d Martens said.<\/p>\n As Waller-Pace counts down the hours until she performs in Nashville, she\u2019s optimistic about the lasting, positive impact the spotlight will have on Fort Worth\u2019s music community. She\u2019s hopeful that new musicians launching careers turn their heads to where the West begins.<\/p>\n \u201cFort Worth is its own city with its own music ecosystem, and it is a place that artists should really look at for more opportunities through festivals, venues and so many organizations,\u201d she said. \u201cIf artists route through, they won\u2019t be sorry they did.\u201d<\/p>\n David Moreno is the arts and culture reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at david.moreno@fortworthreport.org or\u00a0@davidmreports<\/a>.<\/p>\n Disclosure: Mitch Whitten, chief operating officer of Visit Fort Worth, is on the board of directors at Fort Worth Report. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n This article<\/a> first appeared on Fort Worth Report<\/a> and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License<\/a>.<\/p>\n