By Jordan Studer
CCN Reporter
BUCYRUS—What started as a simple youth group worship session about one year ago began to develop into something so much bigger for three local girls. Bailey Niedermier, Abbey Niedermier, and their friend Melia Williamson all decided to bring their ukuleles to the Bucyrus Nazarene Church youth group bonfire to play and sing worship music for their friends.
According to the girls, as they began to worship, their friends started to say that they should perform together more often. Realizing that they might have something that could grow, the girls began talking and decided to form a band. However, they did not want their band to be just a band, but rather a vessel to transport and shine the light and love of God to anyone and everyone they could.
“I want to spread the spirit of God around to everyone, that they can all just know who He is and have a relationship with Him like we all do,” A. Niedermier said.
According to the girls, as they spoke with their parents, words of encouragement, support, and excitement came pouring out. Williamson’s dad helped the girls brainstorm band names. The final decision landed on Uke3. The three was in the name not only because there are three people in the band playing ukulele, but also to represent the trinity of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Once a band name was chosen, all that was needed was to find a place to start playing at. After seeing the girls were serious about wanting to play for the community, the Niedermier girl’s mom, Jennifer Niedermier, told the group that she would make phone calls and try to set the process in motion.
The initial place to play was at The Bookery Parable Christian Store in Mansfield. Mrs. Niedermier continued to make calls and was excited to inform the girls that they had a few additional locations and dates to play at, Bucyrus’ First Friday and at the Pelican in Bucyrus and The Pickwick Place in Bucyrus. The girls also explained that their church, Bucyrus Nazarene Church, was in full support of them as well and helped tremendously in the growing process.
J. Niedermier, or the band “Momager” (mom and manager) as the girls likes to call her, said she took the bull by the horns and started calling around to find places for the band to branch out, “They said they wanted to do more things and I said, you got it!”
The band’s exposure began to grow as did their passion. The community support they saw was a sweet surprise to the girls.
“(It’s) cool because of us being a Christian band. That’s really awesome for me to think about because not a lot of people could be accepting of that. I think it’s really great to have people that would support us that way,” B. Niedermier expressed.
None of the girls had ever taken ukulele lessons, but being well-versed in music paid off as they were able to teach themselves how to play. When speaking with the band about their next steps, they were thrilled to announce that they are currently in the works of creating their own original music. They said they hope to create an acoustic praise and worship set and incorporate additional instruments such as piano, guitar and percussion.
Looking toward the future, Uke3 has high hopes of creating a conference for teen girls with worship, talks and activities. Although no headway has been made yet on how to bring their vision to fruition, they said they are putting their plan in God’s hands to see what He does with it.
The band said they are enjoying their current ability to reach a wide range of people in the community, but their vision to create a teen girl conference is still their goal. The idea stemmed from the thought of empowering young women to have a deep relationship with God and to reach for their dreams that God has set in front of them.
“People are always saying, ‘wow girls your age… doing this! What!?’ I want other people to see that. That could inspire some other people to start things just like we are,” B. Niedermier said.
Both B. Niedermier and Williamson are graduating at the end of this coming school year and are heading off to Mt. Vernon Nazarene to major in music degrees of some sort. They both believe that being there together and learning more about music will really help the band to continue to grow bigger.
Despite two of the band members heading off to college, Uke3 sees this only as a way to build upon their talents and find more inspiration for their music to keep growing. Regarding the ultimate vision, the band isn’t quite sure yet but believes that God has a plan for them.
“As long as we’re having fun with it, we are going to keep going…As long as we are spreading the message of Jesus, that’s all we care about,” B. Niedermier said.
Williamson added that they want to show everyone they come into contact with what it looks like to trust God with everything. J. Niedermier said that the girls are not just talking the talk, but are also walking the walk and can’t wait to see God’s plan for them.
“Certainly as a parent, I definitely want to see them do what they love and be happy. I think that if they are doing those two things then God will lead the way. They are getting all of these blessings, they are putting in all this effort themselves they really are…I think it’s just their faith, their spirituality that’s leading them on this journey…I think God is just calling them to do it,” J. Niedermier said.
The girls expressed a great deal of gratitude for their families and their Bucyrus Nazarene church family, all of whom have helped them set roots for their band and grow and without them they wouldn’t be where they are today. The group said that their choir director, Jeni Eachus and her husband Dirk, and their church worship leader Howard Cole, also played a large role in helping the girls vocally develop and grow as a group both with support and lessons.
The remaining of the summer brings about a busy schedule for Uke3 and they hope to continue to add more. For more information on how to book Uke3 to play at an event, visit their Facebook page.
A list of Uke 3’s summer performance schedule can be found below:
July 26 – Bucyrus United Methodist Church Back to School Supply Carnival, 3 p.m. – 6 p.m.
July 27-28 – The Pickwick Place (Sunflower Festival), 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
August 3, Bucyrus First Friday (performance in Schines Art Park), 5 p.m. – 8 p.m.
August 4, Magnolia Terrace Assisted Living, 10:30 a.m.
August 16, Bucyrus Bratwurst Festival (performance in Schines Art Park), 3 p.m.
August 17, Bucyrus Bratwurst Festival (performance in Schines Art Park), 4 p.m.
August 18, Bucyrus Bratwurst Festival (performance in Schines Art Park), 9 p.m.
August 19, Bucyrus Presbyterian Church, 10:30 a.m.
For more information and for any changes or additions to their performance list, or to book the band, visit their Facebook page.