Thanks again to Phil Nuxhall for representing us at the Cincinnati Entertainment Awards, while we were homeward bound to Cincinnati from the West Coast! We were given the Folk/Americana Award and the newly named Bootsy Collins Music Ambassador Award. (We're going to need to buy some fancier hats.) For those of you who have asked, here are the remarks he shared on our behalf.

FOLK/AMERCANA

"First of all, we are honored to be included in such good company. The Tillers, Buffalo Wabs and the Price Hill Hustle, and Young Heirlooms have all performed at Nowhere Else Festival on our farm. We are fans. All the nominees in this category are hard-working and make meaningful music.

Thanks to CityBeat and the CEA'S for their ongoing dedication to getting the word out about so many deserving Cincinnati musicians.

It means so much to us to receive this award as we celebrate 30 years of songwriting, recording and touring as Over the Rhine. From this vantage point it feels mostly like a gift to have been able to make music for a living for three decades.

We would like to thank the city of Cincinnati and our extended musical family for the incredible support over the years. We are looking forward to performing three concerts here at Memorial Hall in December. What a gift.

So much has changed in the music industry in 30 years. A few things haven't changed. Music is a craft that can be practiced over the course of an entire lifetime. And hopefully we can continue to improve and grow. We are grateful to be part of this community. Thank you."

BOOTSY COLLINS MUSICAL AMBASSADOR AWARD

"It has been our honor and privilege for the last 30 years to perform our music as Over the Rhine across North America and internationally, and answer the question:

Where did you get the name?

When we began writing our first songs together in a third-story apartment on Main Street, we somehow knew that we had stumbled upon one of the world's great neighborhoods. It was broken, beautiful, ragged and resilient ~ all things that we hoped our music could live up to.

Both of us came from families of modest means with no background in the arts. In 1989 we rented the third floor of an entire building in the neighborhood of Over the Rhine for $100 a month. It became our creative home base.

After we signed our first major-label record deal, we were encouraged to move to Los Angeles. There was also a lot of talk over the years of relocating to Nashville.

Somehow we could never bring ourselves to leave the Cincinnati area and our friends here. This place has truly become our home.

It has been meaningful to work with many Over the Rhine non-profits over the years. We have tried to express our gratitude through our music and by giving back.

Thank you to Bootsy Collins for his remarkable legacy. And thanks to the CEA's for this award.

We will always be a Cincinnati band. Take care of each other and thank you."