This festival would be a wonderful Fathers Day gift for the entire family!
The Artists
Kharisma Jazzmatic Funk
A 10 piece jazz funk band, was originally formed seven years ago in the town of Ellijay located in the North Georgia mountains. Surrounded by southern rock, country, and blue grass bands, husband and wife team, Terry and Venae Ellis, brought together a group of talented musicians who were passionate about playing jazz, R&B, and funk music. At that time, Kharisma Jazzmatic Funk was officially born and after just a couple of years performing as a popular cover band mastering in a variety of genres ranging from motown to smooth jazz to classic rock to country and infusing their signature funky groove into every song, Kharisma Jazzmatic Funk developed a loyal and diverse fan base who frequently asked when Kharisma would be releasing their first album.
In response, the work began in earnest about three years ago on original music for their debut CD project, “Eye Candy” tapping into artistic influences from such great musical greats as Nile Rodgers, Herbie Hancock, Sade, Jill Scott, Incognito, among others.
The 4 Korners
With influences from Chick Corea Elektric Band, Dave Weckl Band, Yellowjackets and Tribal Tech, The 4 Korners have completed their second album titled “Portal of Gold” that released through Rope-a-Dope records on October 28th, 2016. This brotherhood 
started with Clarence Hill (Keys), James Thompson (Bass) and Isaac Thompson (Guitar) around the late 90’s early 2000’s.
Jerrod Sullivan (Drums) joined the band in 2014 and has been a great addition to the band. They aspire to reignite the music scene with their passionate, high energy sound of original live instrumental music. They put their hearts and souls into every piece that they compose and their audiences always feel it. Although they are in the jazz fusion genre, they prefer to call it “Journey Music,” encouraging the listener to take a musical joyride from start to finish. Just let your mind run free and enjoy the ride as you listen to the sound of The 4 Korners!
Tray Dahl & The Jugtime Ragband
We play good songs with a few miles on ’em
Purists Beware! Tray Dahl & The Jugtime Ragband is not jug band, ragtime, or dixieland. It is an energetic amalgamation of all the popular styles of the 1920’s/30’s – jazz, a little blues, a bit of swing, a pinch old time gospel, and even classic showtunes – all immersed in an early 20th century New Orleans sound. We get people’s feet stomping in a roaring twenties kind of way. Our sound has been described by many as “speakeasy” or “prohibition era” music.
Our songs match the early New Orleans jazz/blues instrumentation combo of tenor banjo and trumpet with upbeat dixieland and swing tempos underlying a heavy dose of powerful 1920’s inspired vocals stylistically akin to Bessie Smith, Clara Smith, and Louis Armstrong. Our main influences include Louis Prima, Bix Beiderbecke, Louis Armstrong and the Boswell Sisters. We play songs composed by some of the best songwriters from the early and mid-twentieth century alongside our original tunes which are heavily influenced by their work. Our original songs are stories that take listeners back in time through the experiences of our main characters whose tales, so far, have taken place anywhere from the 1860’s to 1930’s.
Taryn Newborne
Some people listen to jazz and some people play it, but Taryn Newborne lives jazz music. Born in Memphis and raised in Atlanta, Georgia; Taryn Newborne comes from a family that engrained music into her life at the early age 5. Exposure to music at such a young age inspired the saying that “Taryn loves music so much that it hurts her feelings”.
Taryn Newborne is currently working on her first album, Sing Taryn Swing. The up and coming artist is seemingly moved and inspired by many musical pioneers such as Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holliday, Dinah Washington, Anita Baker, Sara Vaughn, Nancy Wilson, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder and Joe Sample. Like the renowned artists that she admires, Taryn Newborne embodies the art that is traditional jazz, giving it her own contemporary twist.
Taryn is more than a jazz musician, she has many roles. Outside of singing, Taryn’s role of voice teacher allows her to shape, stretch and develop young local voices. Additional experiences that speak to the professional versatility of Taryn Newborne include the following positions: Director of Vocal Education at Ponier Music Woodstock, actor, choreographer, dancer and Theater Arts instructor at Elm Street Cultural Arts Village. Her musical credits include Taryn and The Real Deal, Joe Gransden Big Band, Macon Pops Orchestra, and Christian Jazz quintet, Invitation.