AMERICANAFEST: Root Keepers: Black Music Stewardship & the Infrastructure of Legacy

Date and Time

• Friday, Sep 18, 2026  11am - 12pm

Location

visit website

Details

Americana has long drawn from the well of Black musical tradition — gospel, blues, sacred song, and the sounds born from Nashville's historic Jefferson Street and the churches and communities that surrounded it. But drawing from a well is not the same as protecting it. While recent conversations have addressed Black artist visibility in Americana spaces, a quieter question remains: who is doing the institutional work of preserving, honoring, and building infrastructure around the Black musical traditions that make this genre possible?

Part of the AmericanaFest lineup, this panel brings together scholars, curators, institution-builders, and industry professionals to examine what active stewardship of Black music legacy looks like — organizationally, financially, and culturally. The conversation moves past representation into responsibility: what does the industry owe the traditions it celebrates, and what models already exist in Nashville that Americana should know about? September is Gospel Music Heritage Month — no coincidence AMERICANAFEST convenes the same month. Panelists include Gina Waters Miller (Moderator), Dr. Ambre Dromgoole, Dr. Bryan Pierce, Shannon Sanders, and Lorenzo Washington. This Lunch and Learn event is in-person in the Museum’s Digital Learning Center at 12:00 p.m.