Ramona + the Riot Duo
Musician / Band,
Ramona + the Riot is accoladed as St. Augustine’s number one award winning cover song ensemble, and packs a heavy punch onstage with internationally recognized original music. Featured by Best of NPR Music in 2016, and again with their 2020 original release “Blood & Sand” and performing in various capacities from duo, trio, to a righteously powerful full band setting.
A coming together of hip-hop, rhythm and blues, funk, pop, rock, and soul, Ramona is a musical treasure trove of long lost one-hit-wonders and modern contemporary favorites.
The band consists of front-woman and lead singer Jeanetta Salyer, guitarist Alberto Cebollero, saxophonist Chris Kearnes, bassist Paul Jackson, keyboardist Liston Gregory, trumpet Robert Bidwell and drummer Jamal Wright. Each member brings their distinct musical background and individualized styles into the mix to create a one-of-a-kind sound that simply knocks the roof off.
This widely loved ensemble has gained traction in the southeast United States for the past three years, stretching the boundaries of genre, collaboration, and reinvention.
Alberto Cebollero has a background in both classical and jazz guitar, studying the legends of Gershwin and Porter and is the band’s guitarist and composer. When Ramona strips down to a duo or trio he has a percussive and vibrant style of playing, creating a loop in which the guitar sounds like a drum while building momentum rhythmically throughout the songs. Chris Kearnes adds a tasty flavor of dynamic saxophone and Paul Jackson is not only the band’s bassist but also their sound engineer, and a beloved bandleader of his own project “Let’s Ride Brass Band” . Trumpet player Robert Bidwell has recently been awarded 1st Place in Florida’s Jazz Soloist Awards. Liston Gregory on keys bring dynamic colors to the highest standard and has played all over the world including a residence in Shanghai’s Blue Note Jazz Club. The heartbeat of the band, drummer Jamal Wright, has toured extensively throughout the southeast with noteable Funk Festivals while the incomparable Femme Fatale on the microphone Jeanetta Salyer brings it all together with vocal stylings that reminese that of Aretha Franklin and Amy Winehouse, With Bold Hip Hop Flavor in the Vein of Doctor Dre and jazz phrasing closer to Sara Vaughn .
Ramona + The Riot effortlessly explores the vast playground which is music. An elite ensemble which is sure bring the house down with each performance, this Band is electric, intuitive, and downright astounding.
