Root Keepers: Black Music Stewardship & the Infrastructure of Legacy

The panel brings together scholars, curators, institution-builders, and industry professionals to examine what active stewardship looks like
About this Event

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? 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.

Our Speakers

Gina Waters Miller (Moderator) is a leadership strategist, creative economy executive, educator, and speaker based in Nashville. After rising from intern to senior executive and label head at MNRK Music Group, she is now Principal of Waters Edge Entertainment, providing strategic counsel to artists, executives, institutions, and organizations across music, media, and civic sectors. A sought-after speaker and moderator, she leads conversations across leadership, culture, entertainment, and the future of the creative economy, with a focus on stewardship, partnership, and people development. She serves as Commissioner on the Nashville Music, Film & Entertainment Commission, Vice President of Nashville Music Equality, and a member of the Americana Music Association, and is former Board Chair of the Music Business Association and former Secretary of the Recording Academy Nashville Chapter. Her honors include Billboard Women in Music, Nashville Business Journal Women of Influence, and induction into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.

Dr. Ambre Dromgoole (Panelist) is an Assistant Professor of Africana Studies and Music at Cornell University specializing in subjects related to sound, religion, race, gender, performance, and popular culture. Dr. Dromgoole received her B.A. in Religion and Music from Oberlin College and Conservatory, her M.A. from Yale Divinity School and Institute of Sacred Music, and her PhD in African American Studies and Religious Studies from Yale University. Her work has appeared in Ethnomusicology, American Music, and the Journal of Popular Music Studies and she has held fellowships with the Ford Foundation and the Louisville Institute, among others. Her current book project There’s a Heaven Somewhere: Sound and Sanctuary in the Lives of Gospel Blues Women documents a collective of twentieth century Black women sacred musicians whose transgressions led to innovations bolstered and animated by their relationships with each other in and out of time and institutions.

Dr. Bryan Pierce (Panelist) is the current Chief Curator of the National Museum of African American Music. He previously held the position of Digital Archivist at Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Arkansas. In both his academic work and as a museum professional, Pierce has specialized in subterranean African American aesthetics in music and decorative arts. He pursued a PhD from Arkansas State University, and throughout his time at ASU, Pierce worked at the Southern Tenant Farmers Museum. He was also on the exhibition development team for the Boyhood Home of Johnny Cash. After completing the doctoral program, Pierce accepted an Assistant Registrar/Curator position with the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

Shannon Sanders (Panelist) is a three-time GRAMMY Award winner, three-time Emmy Award winner, Dove Award-winning songwriter, producer, and creative executive whose impact spans every corner of the music industry. As Executive Director of Creative at BMI Nashville, he has helped shape the careers and sound of artists across genres while championing the next generation of songwriters and music creators. Recognized as one of Nashville’s most influential musical architects, Sanders’ career has taken him from the recording studio to the concert stage, from the boardroom to some of music’s biggest moments. Whether producing records, developing talent, creating innovative industry programs, or building bridges across musical communities, his work is driven by a deep commitment to artistry, culture, and excellence. At the heart of it all is soul—a guiding principle that informs every song, every collaboration, and every opportunity to help others create music and careers that lasts.

Lorenzo Washington (Panelist) is the founder and curator of Jefferson Street Sound Museum, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving the musical legacy of Nashville's Historic Jefferson Street — the city's original Black music row — from the 1940s through the 1970s. A native Nashvillian, Washington built the museum's collection of artifacts, recordings, and oral histories documenting the jazz, soul, and R&B clubs and artists that shaped the district, and created the Jefferson Street Sound genealogy tree tracing the venues and musicians who passed through it. In the 1970s, he founded Soul Shack Records and Boutique and partnered with Dillard & Boyce Productions on the Saturday Night Band's chart hit "Come on Dance." His preservation work has been recognized with the Blues Foundation's 2025 Keeping Blues Alive Award, a 2024 Mayoral Proclamation of Lorenzo Washington Day, and a feature in the PBS documentary Exit 207: The Soul of Nashville.

This event is in-person in the Museum’s Digital Learning Center at 12:00. If you have any questions, please email [email protected]. Boxed lunches made by Apple Spice Nashville are available for purchase for $12.24 to enjoy during the event. The lunches will include a sandwich, chips, and a cookie. Lunch orders must be placed by noon on Wednesday September 16, 2026. Please order your boxed lunch on the ticket registration page.