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Sometimes it takes a real blow to our lives to get us to the place of surrendering everything we have to God.
Mike Bolen and his wife lost their first child five months into the pregnancy, sending the couple into a spiral of doubts, fears, and questions. Despite the hard hit to the family, they persisted in their walk with God, and they surrounded themselves with a solid church family and friends. Mike's wife, Lisa, suffered from rheumatoid arthritis, a condition that caused the couple to doubt whether they would ever have the chance to have kids again. In 1991, they were approved for adoption. However, just within an instance, God moved in their lives, and Lisa found herself pregnant again, only this time with twin girls. All of this hit Mike like a ton of bricks, and he decided that it was about time that he returned to God the gifts which He gave him. From that day forward, Mike decided to put his talents to use and sing for the Lord.
With his ever growing family in support, Mike pursued a solo ministry for several years, until he formed the group The Himnals in 1996. That same year, Mike and Lisa were given their son from adoption. “I really felt like this was a reassurance that I was doing the right thing,” said Mike.
Mike found himself pursuing a solo career short after due to the group booking more than the members were comfortable with. In 2000, Mike was offered a spot with the Crystal River Quartet out of Fayetteville, North Carolina. God had other plans for Mike, as the successful group disbanded in September of 2001. “I really liked the sound of the group,” said Mike, “but I had no idea what God had in store for my ministry.” One night, right after the Crystal River Quartet disbanded, Mike received a call from Gene Haselden. Gene had a deep love for Southern Gospel, and he was interested in forming a group with Mike in the area. “I told him I would be willing to work on finding a tenor and trying to put a group together,” said Mike. “So, I called a young man who had auditioned for the tenor spot while I was with Crystal River Quartet.”
Mike and Gene were more than impressed with Karl Rice, however he was still very young. After discussing the situation with his parents, Karl soon became the newest member of Holy City. “We practiced for a solid two months and sang our first concert at a local singing. I tried to fit as many songs as I could in that 30 minute set. I just wanted to keep the crowd on their feet the whole time,” said Mike. “We hit the stage with a ton of energy, praising the Lord the whole time, and the crowd just took us in.”
Holy City’s high energy style managed to keep the group booked for 80 concerts within their first year, and their second year on the road saw them with over 100 dates and over 100 dates each year since.
Over the last couple of years there has been very few changes in the lineup for Holy City Quartet. Today, the members of Holy City still include Mike Bolen from Mount Pleasant, SC on Lead and Gene Haselden from Charleston, SC singing the Baritone part. The bass vocals are handled by Mark Fink from Charlotte, NC . The Tenor spot is now filled by Johnny Norris of Whiteville, NC. And on the Keyboard is Mr. Rick Coker of Bethera, SC.
Since their short time together, the group has recorded six albums as well as traveled throughout the states of South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Alabama with some limited appearances in Tennessee.
“God has continued to bless our ministry,” resounded Mike. “We look to Him for the direction He would have Holy City go. It takes everyone in our group, along with wives, children, and family of all of us to make this ministry work,” mentioned Mike. “Many family sacrifices are made each week in order for us to keep up the schedule we do. We all love what we do and look forward to sharing our ministry with everyone we can.”
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