Amick Junction is an all-acoustic bluegrass and bluegrass gospel group headquartered in
Batesburg, SC. They combine
their unique harmony sound with both traditional and
contemporary acoustic bluegrass and bluegrass gospel music.
The group was founded by Bruce Amick and his wife, Barbara (“Bobbie”), and is the latest
edition of bands led by the Amicks
over the last 30-plus years. The group plays concerts,
outdoor events, festivals, wedding receptions, church gospel sings,
family reunions, and has appeared on SCETV’s Bluegrass Express show in concert at the Sumter Opera House.
The Amicks have
opened for professional groups such as IIIrd Tyme Out, and others.
The “core” band is comprised of musicians and vocalists primarily from the midlands area
of SC and include:
Bruce Amick, band leader, Batesburg, vocals and rhythm guitar
Barbara “Bobbie” Amick, Batesburg, vocals
Grady Lindler, Lexington, fiddle
Jonathan Anderson, Lancaster, banjo, vocals
Dave Holder, Columbia, bass, lead guitar, dobro, vocals
Don Jones, Blythewood, mandolin, vocals
The Amicks are especially known for their blend of voices in tight harmony and high energy
music selection. They have performed
in numerous venues in the midlands area over the years.
Grady Lindler on fiddle was a member of the Hired Hands who
appeared weekly on radio and
TV in the 1950s and 60s. The other musicians are all veterans who have years of experience performing
in the midlands and upstate of South Carolina. They have produced a bluegrass
CD and a bluegrass gospel CD.
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Bruce and Barbara "Bobbie" Amick
Bruce and Bobbie Amick are the founders of the Amick Junction bluegrass band, the latest rendition
of performing bluegrass, gospel and country bands led by them spanning over the last 30-plus years.
The Amicks’ hallmark has always been high-quality vocal harmonies and music selection designed to
differentiate their style and maximize the entertainment provided to their audiences. They are lifelong
residents of Lexington County in SC, and reside in the Priceville community between Gilbert and
Batesburg-Leesville. Both Bruce and Bobbie sing most of the lead and harmony vocals and Bruce plays
rhythm on his Blueridge guitar. Bruce is self-taught in both vocal harmony and the guitar and began
performing at six years of age. Bruce has always loved country and gospel music and was influenced by
the music of the Chuck Wagon Gang and the Browns. Married for over 49 years, Bruce and Bobbie have
performed together over most of that time, including a stint in the music recording scene in Nashville.
Bruce is well-recognized for his ability to teach harmony singing to others, including their own children
who perform from time-to-time with their parents’ band and enjoy their own musical pursuits. Bruce
and Bobbie have three children and four grandchildren.
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Grady Lindler
Grady Lindler, a native of Chapin SC and long-time resident of Lexington, has performed as a member of the
Amick Junction bluegrass band and with the Amicks for over five years. He primarily plays the fiddle but
has been known to bring his Emmons pedal steel guitar for special bookings where some country music is requested.
Grady’s musical background began about age 14 and he learned primarily from older musicians he worked with.
Over his career of many musical accomplishments, Grady has also played bass, drums and Dobro. These accomplishments
include playing for many years with SC’s notable Hired Hands bluegrass and country band from 1948 to 1965, including
weekly performances on radio and television and filling in with other legendary performers of the era. Over his career,
Grady received offers from a number of professional stars but declined to remain closer to his family and community.
While the senior and most experienced performer in Amick Junction, Grady’s legendary and frequently requested
renditions of classic bluegrass fiddle tunes such as Orange Blossom Special, Sally Goodin’, or Listen to the
Mockingbird have left audiences in awe wherever the band plays. Grady’s fiddle is a John Juzik made in Czechoslovakia.
Grady loves music and the friendship of other musicians. He is married with 3 children and 6 grandchildren and is active in his church.
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Jonathan Anderson
Jonathan Anderson is a lifelong native and resident of Lancaster, SC. He is both the newest and youngest member
of the Amick Junction bluegrass band, joining in 2007 at the age of 19. Jonathan plays the banjo and adds both
lead and harmony vocals. Jonathan is largely self-taught and began playing the banjo at the age of 13 and had
been performing for five years with bluegrass bands popular in the central upstate area of SC before joining
Amick Junction. Between ages 15-16 Jonathan placed in the top five in the Youth Bluegrass Banjo competition at
the Old Fiddler’s Convention in Galax, VA, performed on SCETV’s Bluegrass Express television show and in lead-off
bands for the IBMA Hall of Fame group, The Country Gentlemen, and the Grand Ole Opry’s Pine Mountain Railroad.
Jonthan primarily plays the three-finger Scruggs style on his walnut Gibson RB-4 Mastertone banjo. However, he
occasionally cuts loose on stage with some old-time clawhammer style banjo picking. Jonathan has blended the
musical influences of Earl Scruggs, Terry Baucom, Don Reno, Steve Gulley and Sammy Shelor along with his own
ideas to create his own style on the banjo. He can take either a traditional or progressive approach as fitting
to a music selection. Jonathan has been an asset and a definite crowd pleaser wherever he performs with Amick
Junction. He credits God with blessing him with his musical ability. Now 20 years old, he is still an eligible
bachelor and is working hard toward a career in music.
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Dave Holder
Dave Holder has performed as a member with the Amick Junction bluegrass band and the Amicks for over five years.
He primarily plays the double bass, but is also known for his often-requested contributions on lead vocals, lead guitar
and Dobro. A native of Columbia, SC, Dave’s early musical training began in elementary and junior high school with the
piano and clarinet. In 1964, he began playing the acoustic guitar and was soon performing folk and acoustic blues around
the Columbia area. The late 1960’s found him taking up the double bass, but that stopped for a time after he enlisted in
the U. S. Army in 1968 and served overseas in the Vietnam conflict. He became interested in bluegrass music in the 1990’s
and resumed playing the double bass in that music genre. In addition to his regular performing with Amick Junction, he can
frequently be seen filling in as a substitute bass player for other bluegrass groups in the Columbia area. Dave plays a Carlo
Robelli ¾ bass, a 1982 Martin D-28 guitar and a 1986 resonator square-neck Dobro. Dave is married, has two children, two
grandsons and is musically active in his church.
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Don Jones
Don Jones has performed as a member with Amick Junction for over three years. He plays the mandolin and also
sings tenor harmony and some lead vocals. Don is a native of the Blythewood area of Richland County, and was
exposed to significant musical experiences early in life. He received four years of piano lessons during his
elementary school years and began playing trumpet in his junior and senior high school bands. By the ninth
grade, he placed third in individual trumpet competition in SC’s Junior All-State band, and helped form a pop
music combo that won his school’s talent contest and went on to perform around Columbia at venues such as the
USC Russell House and Ft. Jackson Teen Club. Throughout high school, he consistently placed in the top three
trumpet players in the Columbia area’s All-City band competitions. While in high school, Don also began playing
an electric guitar, electric bass and drums, playing occasionally in a local square dance band. After high school
graduation in 1970, Don entered the University of SC and his musical activities came to a virtual halt as he pursued
education, career and family commitments. In 2000, he became interested in the challenge of learning to play
bluegrass mandolin. Within three years, he was performing regularly as a member of a bluegrass group in the Fort
Mill area of SC’s upstate. He later joined as a member of Amick Junction soon after its formation. Don primarily
plays an F-style Pricetone mandolin made by luthier Lewis Price of Sumter, SC and sometimes uses a Gibson F-5 “Fern”
mandolin. Don has a daughter and two grandchildren and is still musically active with his upstate bluegrass friends.
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April Amick Sexton - Special Guest
April, daughter of Bruce and Barbara Amick, is from Lexington County, SC near the Gilbert area. She grew up in the
musical Amick family and sang with her mother, father, and brothers as “The Amicks” for ten years. Performing all over
the Southeast at fairs and festivals, they opened up for such acts as Tanya Tucker, Ronnie Milsap, John Michael Montgomery,
Vince Gill and Sawyer Brown, dazzling their audiences with their harmonies. They appeared on the show "You Can Be a Star"
in 1988 and won both the daily and weekly competition. April went on to sing with a band out of Augusta, Georgia called
"Empty Pockets" and played the nightclub circuit for two years. She took up song writing in 1993 and, shortly thereafter,
moved to Nashville, where she began pursuing her singing and song writing career, singing demos for many publishing companies.
She currently performs regularly with Queen of Hearts, a group of four women songwriters/singers specializing in four-part
harmonies. They perform at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, TN usually four times a year singing songs they have written and
performing in other venues as well nationwide. April also performs with the beach music band, "Second Nature," touring the
Southeast for mostly private events, weddings, conventions, and private parties. When she can, April still loves to perform
along with her mom and dad in Amick Junction, singing bluegrass and bluegrass gospel in special events such as festivals,
churches, and concert venues around SC.
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Rene Hayes Littell - Special Guest
René, formerly a member of Amick Junction for about three years, now appears with the Band as a guest performer for special occasions and concerts.
She currently sings regularly with the beach music group, Second Nature, and performs throughout the Southeast. She went to school with Bruce and
Bobbie’s children and she has been musically associated with the Amick family for over 16 years. At the age of two, René started singing the songs
she learned in her church’s Sunday school. Her aunt showed her how to play these songs on the piano and that shaped her future and her love of music.
She studied piano and sang in her church choir growing up and in high school she was a member of the South Carolina All-State Chorus, drama club and
marching band. Further using her singing talent, she successfully competed in beauty pageants and is a former Miss Batesburg-Leesville and Miss Lexington.
She also went on to compete in the Miss South Carolina pageant. She has studied voice with a private teacher and at Columbia College. René sings beach,
country, bluegrass and pop music and frequently solos at weddings, funerals, family reunions and other special occasions. She is married and has two children.
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