“You two do music that makes people feel good no matter what else is going on.” – Barbara Shaffer, member of Something Special music duo

“Experts at spreading joy” – “Uncle” George Flanagan, guest at The Oaks at The Marshes of Skidaway Island

“You’re the best two-piece band I’ve ever heard!” – Hugh, resident of John Wesley Villas and retired professional trombone player

“You two are blessed with a great deal of talent.” – guest at MK’s, Blowing Rock, NC

Sound Traveler: Our view from the stage

Music has rewarded us with gifts beyond measure. Through an open mic at Carolina BBQ in Newland, NC, in 2005, it gave us the opportunity to meet. Music played its part in our growing relationship while we worked together as the Bob & Ellie with Patty trio. In 2010, when Sound Traveler was created and our marriage began, music smiled on us every step of the way. When Sound Traveler became a full-time enterprise in 2012, music gave us the courage to go for it and never look back. In return, we give music everything we have without reservation.

Because of our music, we’ve watched a 102-year-old lady dance with abandon. A man rose from his wheelchair to dance with a lady who had no legs. A World War II veteran played his fiddle with us one day. A room full of memory care residents came alive at an impromptu dance party.

We’ve celebrated countless birthdays, including Bob’s mom’s 90th celebration. We were honored to play a wedding reception where the father of the bride danced with his daughter, his wife, and his mother. We played at a winery as Patty’s parents celebrated their golden wedding anniversary. And once we even played in a pasture for a “horsewarming” party.

Children have come up to our stage to sing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” with us. Classrooms full of students have become energized as we explored the connection between poetry and music. Little ones have bounced and danced while their proud parents beamed. We’ve serenaded dogs, deer, and cockatoos, and it’s all because of music.

As our name implies, we travel to create our sounds. Our home bases are Cape Canaveral (FL) and Avery County (NC), and we regularly visit Orlando, the Tampa Bay area, Gainesville (FL), and Savannah (GA). We’ve also performed in Japan (Tokyo, Nagoya, Niigata, and Kumamoto), Cuba (Santiago de Cuba), Costa Rica (Ojochal, Nosara, and Tamarindo), Ireland (Cashel), the Netherlands (Den Haag), Denmark (Copenhagen), Nashville (TN), Tucson (AZ), Boise (ID), Virginia, and the Washington DC area, and we look forward to adding new destinations to our ever-growing schedule. Wherever we go, we strive to always

Honor the music of the past
Celebrate fine contemporary music, and
Add our own original creations and arrangements to the diverse mix.

The result is innovative and unique, as we make real, live music using unexpected combinations of instruments (guitar, trumpet, bass, concertina, banjo, harmonica, percussion, melodica, ukulele, xylophone) and vocals. Tracks (previously recorded music), looping devices, and songbooks are never used. The genres we cover also express our eclectic nature: expect to hear classic rock/pop/country tunes, classy standards, light jazz, folk, traditional, gospel, and even some originals in a typical Sound Traveler performance.

We’ve had the distinct pleasure of playing over 3000 shows (and counting) since 2010, and the view from our stage gets better and better every day. Whether your special event is in an intimate restaurant or for a festival in a city park, it would be our privilege to provide you with top-quality musical entertainment!

About Bob Tatum… From almost as far back as Bob can remember, music and singing has been like breathing – something that he did because it brought life. Whether he was banging out tunes on an old out-of-tune upright piano or picking out melodies on a cheap, hard-to-play guitar at his home in Savannah, Georgia, music was always his soundtrack for existence, connecting deeply to his soul. Bob played in several groups including Shalom, Sunset, and Echoes & Shadows before moving to North Carolina in the mid-1980s. He wrote and performed in an original Christian musical entitled Breath Like a Wind which was presented in the Western North Carolina area for three seasons. Later, Bob became a founding member of Crossties, an acoustic quartet that featured close harmonies, reminding many of Peter, Paul and Mary. Throughout much of the past two decades, Bob teamed up with the incomparable vocalist Ellie Hjemmet to establish the well-respected group Bob & Ellie and its variant Bob & Ellie with Patty. Bob plays lead guitar, banjo, and harmonica while adding lead and harmony vocals. Since moving to Cape Canaveral in 2010, Bob has focused his musical energies exclusively on Sound Traveler. Bob has an original Christmas song that was released on the CD Christmas in the Mountains Volume III, and other songs that he both co-wrote and performed with Sound Traveler are on Christmas in the Mountains Volumes IV, V, VI, and VII & Music in the Mountains Volumes I and II.

About Patty Kunze Tatum… Growing up in Orlando, Florida, Patty can’t remember a time when she didn’t have a musical soundtrack running 24/7 in her head. After performing as a trumpet player in two Up With People casts (North America and Europe) and a jazz orchestra (Nagoya, Japan), she picked up the guitar and co-founded a contemporary Christian acoustic duo called Beautiful Day which performed at various events around Florida. When she joined forces with Bob and Ellie in the spring of 2007, she discovered her love for the bass guitar. She also plays trumpet, concertina, melodica, and percussion while adding lead and harmony vocals. When they’re not on the road, Patty and Bob divide their time between Cape Canaveral, Florida, and Avery County, North Carolina. Patty loves to travel and make music more than just about anything, and she is looking forward to wherever life with Bob and Sound Traveler takes her in the years to come. Patty published a novel called Cruising Alaska Tropical Style in 2015, which is available on Amazon and at Sound Traveler performances. Her personal motto: “Live, love, dance, laugh, make music!”