Hello again,

In the end, there is only one business plan that matters to an artist:

Keep going.

You either do or you don't.

As we reflect back on all the shared years and miles, tears and smiles, we often think about what we would have missed if we had called it quits. Lord knows we were tempted many times along the way, especially in the early years, but even more recently too.

Some days we still wake up and think:

And if the music starts before I get there
Dance without me
I just don't have much left to say
They've taken their toll these latter days

But by choosing to put one foot in front of the other, returning to the work at hand and making even modest attempts to move forward and grow, we ultimately find ourselves grateful that we stayed the course. Someone called it, A long obedience in the same direction.

And the people we've met along the way - that's the amazing wild card: If we had abandoned our calling, we wouldn't have met____________________.

So many beautiful names could go in that space, and if you've read this far, there's room for you.

But we're thinking this morning of a particularly soulful man we have been blessed to call a dear friend for coming up on 15 years: engraver, writer, bookmaker, teacher, printmaker, designer, illustrator, painter, dog lover and so much more, Barry Moser.

We have laughed and cried with Barry over the years, lingered over good meals, stayed up too late more than once, gotten into good trouble together. But Barry has also been one of our important teachers, simply by giving us the gift of allowing us to peer deeply into his life and life's work.

He's also just so damn quotable.

Barry says, Talent is as common as house dust and as useful as teats on a boar hog.

What matters is Work.

Barry also says, Don't call yourself an artist, call yourself by the work you do.

Writer. (Writes.)
Songwriter. (Writes. Sings.)
Painter. (Paints.)
Photographer. (Makes pictures.)
Poet. (Writes poems.)
Et cetera.

Do the work. Focus on the work. Let others decide whether or not it's art.

Somehow that bit of wisdom helped set us free.

So we return to the work. And we let the rest go. We work to put more music out into the world this year. We continue to work through the new songs. We let the new songs work through (and on) us. And we keep going.

There is still so much music left to be made.

So here we go. Get out your calendars. Circle a few dates. Let's make plans to be together and share this long road ahead come what may. Let's take good care of each other along the way.

Let's keep going.

Peace like a river, love like an ocean,

Linford and Karin

L&K

MARK YOUR CALENDARS: Roughly A Year's Worth Of Holy Musical Mischief With Annotations, Asides, Notes And Commentary

JULY

7/20, Wilmington, OH, FREE OUTDOOR CONCERT! ~ Over the Rhine and the Band of Sweethearts will be playing a FREE concert on Main Street in front of the Murphy Theatre, to celebrate the theater's 100th Anniversary.

Gates open at 4pm, Show starts at 7pm. You are welcome to bring your own lawn chairs or blankets to spread out. Jay Bellerose (drums), Jennifer Condos (bass) and musical Swiss-army knife Bradley Meinerding will help us make a holy ruckus.

7/25 Louisville, KY - WFPK Waterfront Wednesdays, FREE OUTDOOR CONCERT! Down by the river we'll sway awhile.

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

8/11 Winona Lake, IN - Grace College & Village ~ FREE OUTDOOR CONCERT! With Sara Groves and Andrew Peterson. Concert takes place in a large tent on the lawn. You are welcome to bring lawn chairs or blankets.

Pour me a glass of wine, talk deep into the night, who knows what we'll find

8/12 Chicago, IL - CITY WINERY Chicago

9/27 Boston, MA - CITY WINERY Boston

9/28 New York, NY - CITY WINERY NYC

9/29 Albany, NY - The Egg

OCTOBER

10/12 - 10/14 NOWHERE ELSE SONGWRITING WORKSHOP

Make plans to spend a long weekend with us, on our hidden away farm immersed in songwriting, good food, good stories, good beverages and good company.

The workshop experience is all about taking a few steps forward in your songwriting life, regardless of whether you are just starting out, or have been writing and recording for years. The workshop is helpful to writers of any persuasion, not just songwriters. And if you have no intention of writing, but just love music and records, hopefully this workshop will deepen your ability to listen. We need good listeners too.

In these uncertain times, it feels like we need music more than ever. Songs can re-invite people back into a real conversation. Songs can provide a safe place for the conflicted emotions many of us are feeling. And we've heard it over and over: music heals.

Join us on the farm! Email overtherhineofficial@gmail.com for more info, and help us spread the word.

10/26 & 27 Minneapolis, MN - Dakota ~ Looking forward to two nights in one of our favorite venues.

NOVEMBER ~ EUROPE

11/2 Wageningen, Netherlands - Junushoff
11/3 Middelburg, Netherlands - Doopsgezinde kerk
11/4 Breda, Netherlands - Festival Rootzz
11/6 Utrecht, Netherlands - Tivoli Vredenburg
11/8 Da Groningen, Netherlands - De Oosterpoort
11/9 Herent, Belgium - GC De Wildeman
11/10 Doetinchem, Netherlands - het Nieuwe Dijkhuis
11/11 Ludenscheid, Germany - Kulturhaus Lüdenscheid
11/13 London, UK - Union Chapel

CHRISTMAS (In July? Karin's Christmas Cactus bloomed right on cue a few days ago. All of these concerts except one are now on sale as well. We look forward to these warm evenings of reality Christmas music and more all year long.)

11/27 & 28 Seattle, WA - Triple Door
11/30 Portland, OR - Aladdin Theater
12/2 Eugene, OR - WOW Hall
12/4 Berkeley, CA - Freight & Salvage
12/6 Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour
12/8 Phoenix, AZ - Musical Instrument Museum (Tix on sale 8/8)
12/14 Ann Arbor, MI - The Ark
12/15 Columbus, OH - Southern Theatre
12/16 Cleveland, OH - Music Box Supper Club
12/21, 22 & 23 Cincinnati, OH - Memorial Hall

NOWHERE ELSE FESTIVAL May 24-26, 2019

Early bird tickets are now on sale for next year's festival. What can we say? These gatherings just get better every year. It's a wave we ride for months afterward. What is it that sets Nowhere Else Festival apart? We are still very much figuring that out. Our emcee this year, Peter Mulvey, suggested that first and foremost, Nowhere Else Festival is a poem. We are still thinking about that. But regardless, you should make plans to come to the farm and join us next Memorial Day Weekend. It's a pilgrimage. It's a musical family reunion. You might be surprised. Check out nowhereelsefestival.com for more info.

Please note: for every early bird ticket sold, we will make a $1 donation to KIND (KIDS IN NEED OF DEFENSE), a non-profit that advocates for children in transit and crisis around the world, including traumatized children at our own Southern border. For every $1 of donor support, KIND leverages $7 in pro bono legal services for children in need. Thank you.

We'll keep in touch. Please do the same.

Rave on,

L&K