Knoxville’s most prominent female jazz voice has launched an online crowdfunding campaign to help pay for her Women in Jazz Festival, a three-day event scheduled for March that will celebrate “women in all aspects of the jazz genre, throughout the jazz community.”
Singer and radio host Kelle Jolly announced the festival in the spring. It’s set for March 18-20, with workshops for artists and concerts by local, regional, and national performers throughout that weekend. Through the Indiegogo campaign, which is aiming for $10,000, Jolly intends to pay artist fees and travel and lodging expenses, as well as raise money for marketing and publicity. (The cost of venue rentals has already been covered.)
The campaign runs through the middle of February. Several perks are available: for $25, you get a public thanks on social media; for $50, a set of festival postcards designed by a local artist; for $100, a festival T-shirt; for $250, two weekend passes to the festival; and for $500, an original song written for you by Jolly. You can contribute and learn more at indiegogo.com/projects/women-in-jazz-jam-festival#/
Jolly performs regularly around town, as a solo artist and with her husband, saxophonist Will Boyd. She is also the host of WUOT’s weekly Jazz Jam on Friday nights, an hour-long show covering classic and contemporary vocal jazz. The festival will keep all the money pledged to the campaign, whether it reaches the $10,000 goal or not.
Senior Editor Matthew Everett manages the Knoxville Mercury's arts & entertainment section, including the comprehensive calendar section—Knoxville’s go-to guide for everything worth doing in the area. You can reach Matthew at matthew@knoxmercury.com.
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