Ramona and the Holy Smokes

Based in Central Virginia and with family roots in South Texas, Ramona and the Holy Smokes represent a new generation of honky tonk music. With powerful female vocals that cover an emotional range from determined to comic to vulnerable, and a talented backing band steeped in classic country and western styles of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, the band exhibits a “clarity and sincerity that bring Patsy Cline to mind” (Nashville Scene, 2025). Fronted by Ramona Martinez, whose songwriting has earned her recognition from Wide Open Country as one of the "15 Latino Artists Shaping Country Music," this Charlottesville, Virginia-based band is rooted in the traditional sounds of country music but unafraid of pushing boundaries and highlighting the connections across border cultures. Their self-produced debut album, Ramona and the Holy Smokes, a collection of original songs about heartache and resiliency, will be released on September 26.