Ramona & The Holy Smokes with Rebecca Porter & The Rhinestone Roses
Ramona & The Holy Smokes Website / Instagram / Spotify 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’s repertoire includes lush emotional ballads, quintessential two-step dance numbers, gritty country-rockers, and a unique blend of honky tonk and traditional Mexican styles that the group describes as “Mexi-tonk.” Drawing on the Mexican-American heritage of lead singer and songwriter Ramona Martinez, recognized by Wide Open Country as one of the “15 Latino Artists Shaping Country Music,” Ramona and the Holy Smokes are simultaneously rooted in the traditional sounds of country music but unafraid of pushing boundaries and highlighting the connections across border cultures. Their self-titled debut LP offers the group the opportunity to explore this diversity of sounds, leaning into an authenticity and resiliency in songs that chart life’s ups and downs from the perspective of a female voice seeking to maintain a sensitivity and sense of wonder in a twenty-first century world filled with emotional highs and lows. Formed in 2022, Ramona and the Holy Smokes have seen their star rise in the region and beyond. The band–which includes Kyle Kilduff (electric guitar), Brooks Hefner (pedal steel), Jay Ouypron (bass), and Porter Bralley (drums)–had built a rapport playing together before joining Ramona, and in their time together have brought their talents to Ramona’s songs and song ideas, shaping and arranging these for a signature honky tonk sound. The band has performed regularly in the region, appearing at several Americana festivals including Red Wing Roots (2024), Rooster Walk (2025), and Bristol Rhythm & Roots (2025), and has opened for touring artists like Margo Cilker, Colby Acuff, Willi Carlisle, Redd Volkaert, Joshua Hedley, Donna the Buffalo, and Kashus Culpepper. Rebecca Porter & The Rhinestone Roses Webiste / Instagram / Spotify Born in Guam and raised in Virginia, Rebecca Porter writes unflinchingly personal songs that challenge the boundaries of genre and amplify voices often left out of the country canon. With commanding live performances and a cinematic debut album, Porter’s work invites listeners into stories of identity, resilience, and acceptance. Her 2023 EP Queen of the Local and 2025 debut album Roll With the Punches have earned national and international recognition, including features on NPR’s Mountain Stage, No Depression, The Bluegrass Situation, KEXP, and Lonesome Highway.
New Year’s Eve with The Whiskey Smugglers, Magician Michael Casey, and All Y’all Country All Stars
The Whiskey Smugglers (2007-2010) were a Carrboro, NC–based large-ensemble Americana project rooted in bluegrass, folk, and alt-country traditions. Known for their rich harmonies, rolling acoustic textures, and sharply observed songwriting, the band built a devoted following throughout the Triangle with songs that balanced humor, heartache, and poetic grit. Their sound is warm, communal, and deeply grounded in Southern storytelling. This New Year’s Eve reunion brings The Whiskey Smugglers back together for a rare, one-night celebration of the music, the friendships, and the scene that shaped them. They’ll be joined by both old and new friends, including magician Michael Casey and the All Y’all Country All-Stars to help ring in the New Year in true communal style. Whether you’re a longtime fan or a first-time listener, expect a night of heartfelt songs, joyful noise, and hometown nostalgia.
Wasted Major with Nothin Nu
Wasted Major WastedMajor.com Instagram Tik Tok Facebook Spotify YouTube Wasted Major is a Nashville-based band formed by University of Tennessee grads who traded their degrees for guitars and a passion for classic rock, traditional country, and honky-tonkin’. In the past year, they’ve played over 200+ live shows across the US and toured Europe, building a reputation for their high-energy performances and timeless sound. Whether it’s the punchy riffs, toe-tapping rhythms, or their multi-vocal lineup, Wasted Major brings a classic sound that’s bound to make you feel something real. Tune in and join the ride—because when you’ve “wasted your major”, it’s all about the music.
Johnny Dowd with Severed Fingers
Johnny Dowd Website Severed Fingers Bandcamp
The Pink Stones with Ma’aM and C. Albert Blomquist
The Pink Stones Website / Instagram / Spotify “This record was me trying to take everything I love as a listener and a player and shove it all into one thing without it sounding random,” says Hunter Pinkston, former punk turned cosmic country auteur, describing You Know Who, the boisterous, ambitious sophomore album by his band The Pink Stones. Ostensibly they play country music, yet all the pedal steel sobs, the two-steppin’ rhythms, twangy harmonies, and lyrics about broken hearts and long days on the road are launchpads for wild experiments and unexpected stylistic forays. “There’s obviously a lot of country and rock in our music, but there’s a lot of gospel and soul and psych and dub. I really wanted to get all of those things living peacefully together in one record.” Made up almost entirely of Athens musicians who play in other bands around town (including former members of the Drive-By Truckers and the Glands), The Pink Stones match their frontman’s vast musical vocabulary while adding their own twists to spacey honkytonk, pedal-to-the-metal trucker anthems, and ecstatic gospel. Together, they have the range to be whatever they need to be at any given moment, embracing the spirit of musical freedom that has animated the local music scene for more than forty years. Yet, The Pink Stones sound like no other Athens band. “We have the space to be free here in Athens and do whatever we want,” says Pinkston. “We get to do our own thing, and there are a million other really good bands doing their own things here as well. Everyone is friends with everyone else, and everyone’s doing something constantly, so you’re always hearing something new. And you always have to stay on your toes.”
Dixon Dallas (SOLD OUT)
For all venue info & policies, visit www.local506.com – Under 21 subject to a surcharge, payable at the door.
FANCY GAP ALBUM RELEASE SHOW W/ SHE RETURNS FROM WAR, OLD HEAVY HANDS
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Dawson Wright w/ Amy Jae, Benson Davis
For all venue policies & membership info, visit www.local506.com – Under 21 subject to a surcharge, payable at the door. Must have valid ID to enter.