The Onset Beach Jazz Festival will be charging admission for this first time this year when it fills the Onset bandshell with music on July 19.

"We held a number of fundraisers and found out we didn't have the money to keep the festival free this year," said Mikelyn Roderick, who founded the festival which is now in its third year.

Roderick said the caliber of performers justifies the price, as well as the fact that the event is an all-day affair with great food, music and scenes on the bay.

Roderick was able to secure Grammy-nominated singer Elle Varner, who has had a top five hit on the R & B charts.

"She has a very big young female audience," Roderick said.

Additionally, proceeds from the festival go toward a program called Musical Instruments for Middle School Students, or M.I.M.S.S., Wareham Middle School students who win an essay contest in the fall will receive a musical instrument purchased by the festival.

"Music is just as important as football, basketball and other studies," she said.

Tickets for the festival will be $25 if purchased before June 15, then the price will likely go up to $30, Roderick said.

For more information about the festival and to find out how to buy tickets, visit http://onsetbeachjazzfestival.org/