Ramsey is a classically trained violinist who has been playing the
violin since age five. She studied music at the
State University of New York at Fredonia and played viola with the
Erie Philharmonic for four years. and are out of print. Mary Ramsey also played violin and viola for
10,000 Maniacs and sang backing vocals on the 1993 album
MTV Unplugged. Ramsey returned to the Maniacs as lead singer and songwriter in 1995 after
Natalie Merchant's departure, along with Lombardo. The duo released two albums with the Maniacs, 1997's
Love Among the Ruins, which contained a cover of the
Roxy Music song "
More Than This" that became a top 40 hit on the U.S. charts, and
The Earth Pressed Flat in 1999. While with 10,000 Maniacs, Ramsey toured throughout the U.S. and in Brazil, England, Portugal, In 2002, after she and Lombardo both left the Maniacs following the death of guitarist
Rob Buck,
John & Mary released
The Pinwheel Galaxy (2003). With their current band the Valkyries, they released
Peace Bridge (2007). Ramsey was rehired by
10,000 Maniacs as a
viola player and backing vocalist for the 2006 shows with
Oskar Saville and returned to the lead vocalist spot after the departure of
Saville in 2007. She continued as lead vocalist for the next 16 years and performed on both the band's 30th anniversary tour (2011–13) and 40th anniversary tour (2021–22), as well as the studio albums
Music from the Motion Picture (2013) and
Twice Told Tales (2015), which featured Lombardo's return as well, and the live album
Playing Favorites (2016). In June 2023, she announced she was leaving 10,000 Maniacs to pursue other projects. She returned to the band in January 2024. == Other projects ==