Hello young lovers wherever you are,

Hello not-so-young lovers with hearts fixed on the prize of growing older together, one day at a time, come what may,

Hello to those flying solo, learning to love just the feel of being human,

Hello to those head over heels in a tangle of a wrecked bed, blurring ego boundaries with an eager protagonist, drunk on it,

Hello to those who could never live with another human being and are okay with that knowledge (Fran Lebowitz),

Hello to those married with young children, running their domestic marathon,

Hello to those in love with the sky only, the very breathable air, restlessly content with this earthly mix of sometimes joy, sometimes longing, sometimes loneliness, sometimes surprising laughter,

Hello to those in love with the whole human predicament,

Hello to the broke, the well-heeled, the lucky, the lost, the quiet, the gifted, the empty-handed, the adopted, the beginners, the almost finished, the starting over, the music makers, and those with the gift of hearing and receiving the music,

Hello.

Happy St. Valentine’s Day to you all.

 (C’mon… how ‘bout a high five…)

 Just wanted to pass along a few dates so you could put a few xoxo’s on the 2012 calendar.

 Karin and I are taking our (infamous) love songs (some new, some old, some works in progress) all the way to Texas this weekend, and then Minnesota the following weekend. Anxious to make a little hopefully lovely ruckus with you nearby.

 And then as the weather begins to lean toward Spring, we’ve earmarked weekends here and there to slip back out to California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana and points beyond. Mostly short trips, just long enough to keep the gears oiled, as we will be recording as well.

 Anyway, this is a Want Ad: Fellow lovers of life needed to fill a few velvet seats, hum along, laugh at our off-kilter stage banter, grin at our jokes, cheer for the piano with the broken heart. Tickets available! OvertheRhine.com for more details.

 Peace like a river, Love like an ocean,

 Linford & Karin

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Saturday, February 18, The Granada Theatre, Dallas, TX, with very special guest Doug Burr

Sunday, February 19, The Cactus Café, Austin, TX, TWO SHOWS: 7pm and 10pm, An acoustic evening with Over the Rhine

Saturday, February 25, College of Saint Benedict, St. Joseph, MN, An acoustic evening with Over the Rhine

Good Friday, April 6, Marin, CA, More info coming soon!

Saturday, April 7, Kuumbwa, Santa Cruz, CA

Thursday, April 12, The Ponte Vedra Concert Hall, Ponte Vedra, FL, with very special guest Lucy Wainwright Roche

Friday, April 13, The Lyric Theater, Stuart, FL, with very special guest Lucy Wainwright Roche

Saturday, April 14, Orlando, FL, More info coming soon!, with very special guest Lucy Wainwright Roche

Sunday, April 15, David A Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts, Tampa, FL, with very special guest Lucy Wainwright Roche

Friday, April 27, Eddies Attic, Decatur, GA, An acoustic evening with Over the Rhine

Saturday, April 28, Red Clay Theatre, Duluth, GA, An acoustic evening with Over the Rhine

Friday and Saturday, May 4 and 5, SPACE, Evanston, IL, An acoustic evening with Over the Rhine

Saturday, May 19, River Roots Music & Folk Art Festival, Madison, IN

AND more to come…

Again, chk out OvertheRhine.com, the Over the Rhine facebook page, or follow @overtherhine on twitter for updates.

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As for your tender heart, this world’s gonna rip it wide open. It ain’t gonna be pretty, but you’re not alone…

xo.