{"id":340451,"date":"2026-06-17T22:51:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T22:51:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/340451\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T22:51:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T22:51:10","slug":"the-soundcheck-fort-worth-musician-contributes-to-new-record-centered-on-black-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/340451\/","title":{"rendered":"The Soundcheck: Fort Worth musician contributes to new record centered on Black experience"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Hailey Green, Fort Worth Report
June 17, 2026<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Listen up, Fort Worth! Welcome to The Soundcheck, a biweekly music column keeping you in the loop on what\u2019s happening across the Tarrant music scene.<\/p>\n

Interested in music focused on the intersection of education, activism and the history of the Black community? What about music with a feminist and LGBTQ+ flair? Meet Fort Worth-based artist Brandi Waller-Pace and Nashville-based Lizzie No.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The two come together for the album \u201cOutlaws\u2019 Almanac,\u201d which looks to reframe U.S. history through a person of color\u2019s lens. The record is focused on Americana and roots traditions and serves as a response to America\u2019s 250th birthday celebration, according to the musicians.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The album combines the storytelling and musical stylings of 15 different artists, including Waller-Pace. The purpose of this project was to blend Indigenous, Black, brown, queer, rural, and women\u2019s voices with traditional and contemporary music, No said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe created a space of sacred permission for the whole range of emotions that come up when we tell stories about our people, what we\u2019ve experienced in this land, and what we hope for,\u201d they said. \u201cThe central question was \u2018What do we, as working-class artists, have to say about this heavy anniversary?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Waller-Pace, founder of the nonprofit Decolonizing the Music Room and organizer of the annual Fort Worth African American Roots Music Festival,<\/a> has left their mark on the city\u2019s scene since relocating after grad school. During her 12 years as a grade school music teacher in Fort Worth ISD she co-wrote music curriculum for the district and served as an artist-in-residence at Arts Fifth Avenue. She taught private music lessons and led a jazz choir through the nonprofit’s Summer Playhouse camps for children.<\/p>\n

No and Waller-Pace didn\u2019t meet in person until 2023, but their admiration for each other\u2019s music existed long before that. Waller-Pace invited No to headline the roots music festival the following year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had been following Lizzie for a while on Instagram and was digging her music,\u201d Waller-Pace said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On \u201cOutlaws\u2019 Almanac,\u201d Waller-Pace plays bass on many of the album\u2019s tracks and lends her voice on \u201cAin\u2019t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The song came about as the musicians talked through the last track they wanted to record together, Waller-Pace said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat started as talking through an initial idea somehow led to us putting together an arrangement of the song inspired by The Roots,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

No said the Fort Worth musician stepped into \u201cbandleader mode\u201d to lead the group through an essential anthem that reflects the Civil Rights era.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer power to bring a room full of musicians to attention is unmatched,\u201d they said. \u201c(Waller-Pace) has this quiet storm of energy that demands attention. You can feel the entire band moving as one on this recording.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two musicians hope when people listen to the album, they hear the blend of stories, history and music.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201c(This album) makes me feel Black and proud,\u201d Waller-Pace said. \u201cIt\u2019s always joyful to create through a lens of Black freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope that you feel energized in your body after listening to this record,\u201d No added. \u201cI hope it makes you want to call somebody you love or say hello to a neighbor. I hope you sing along.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other featured artists Kapali Long, Zachary Hamilton, Kasey Anderson, Will Greene, Tray Wellington, Nick Shoulders, Nick Rapley, Kimaya Diggs, A.J. Haynes, Eric Ambel, Olivia Ellen Lloyd, Ka\u00efa Kater and Nathan Evans Fox.<\/p>\n

\u201cOutlaws\u2019 Almanac\u201d is out June 19 and available for purchase<\/a> on Bandcamp.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Credits list for \u201cOutlaws\u2019 Almanac\u201d<\/p>\n

Executive Producer: Lizzie No
\nProducer\/Engineer: Nick Rapley
\nMastering Engineer: Jesse Cannon
\nAdditional Engineering: Eric Ambel, A.J. Haynes, Will Greene, Zachary Hamilton, Kapali Long, Kimaya Diggs
\nAlbum Art: Mia Kersten
\nPublicity: Kimaya Diggs\u00a0
\nRadio: Ronda Chollock
\nFinanced by RuralOrganizing.org Education Fund<\/p>\n

Hailey Green (she\/they) is a live production professional based in North Texas. She serves as production manager for the Fort Worth African American Roots Music Festival as well as on faculty in the University of Texas at Arlington Department of Theatre Arts & Dance.<\/p>\n

This <a target=”_blank” href=”https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/2026\/06\/17\/the-soundcheck-fort-worth-musician-contributes-to-new-record-centered-on-black-experience\/”>article<\/a> first appeared on <a target=”_blank” href=”https:\/\/fortworthreport.org”>Fort Worth Report<\/a> and is republished here under a <a target=”_blank” href=”https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nd\/4.0\/”>Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License<\/a>.<img src=”https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fortworthreport.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/cropped-favicon.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1″ style=”width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;”><\/p>\n

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