Ramona & the Holy Smokes

Ramona & the Holy Smokes is a Honky Tonk band from Charlottesville Virginia, whose original country music recalls classic country from the 1950s and 60s.

The Holy Smokes are fronted by Ramona Martinez, a prolific singer-songwriter whose sincere and heartfelt music has been described as “incredibly relatable” and “earnest.” She also pulls from her Mexican-American roots to perform and compose traditional Mariachi music in a Country Western style.

The current line-up of the Holy Smokes includes: Kyle Lawton Kilduff (Electric guitar), Brooks Hefner (Pedal Steel), Jay Ouypron (Bass), and Porter Bralley (Drums.)

After taking Central Virginia by storm, Ramona & the Holy Smokes are touring more extensively in the Mid-Atlantic, the South, & New England.

The Victory Seeds, a femme-led folk rock band, is channeling the spirit of their childhoods and the music they grew up listening to in their new self-titled album – and their roots are right on campus.

The band was started by drummer and singer Sophia Bondi, a senior at the School of Jazz. She is accompanied by Jackson Earles on fiddle, Kate Pass on bass, Cameron Criss on guitar, and Frances Rodriguez on banjo, lead, and rhythm guitar.

Produced by Sean Walsh, member of the Brooklyn-based Americana band The National Reserve, the album was highly influenced by the Byrds’ 1968 country rock album “Sweetheart of the Rodeo,” Neil Young’s 1978 album “Comes a Time,” and newer country rock artists like Sturgill Simpson, TK & The Holy Know-Nothings, and Western Centuries.