Greetings from a snowy farm in February,

I'm thinking about "firsts" today.

It's an odd little duck of a word, but an important one.

Maybe it's good to compare notes.

I wonder, how much space is there in your current life to try things you've never done before, attempt something for the very first time?

Karin and I have often chosen to place ourselves in situations where we are playing the role of the beginner.

It's a blessing and a curse. It's exhilarating and terrifying. It can be a liability when it comes to sleeping through the night.

I suppose this ongoing willingness to embrace the unknown goes back to a couple of small town Ohio college kids announcing one day that we were going to "start a band..."

I still remember the look of pity and disappointment on my favorite college English professor's face when I told him the news. His crestfallen expression said it all - No grad school? No tenured teaching career? Not even a career in classical music?

Songwriting?!

He retired from our little Quaker college not long after that particular conversation, but began teaching at an exclusive private high school in Florida. Much to his (and our) surprise, his students started wandering into class with our records, talking about our music. And then sure enough, he and his wife Carlene began appearing at our concerts. Even they seemed to make peace with the fact that maybe we were feeling our way forward on a valid, meaningful path even if we couldn't quite see where it was leading.

Yes, sometimes the "What ifs" can start piling up. What if we don't know what we're doing? What if no one cares? What if we're just not good enough? What if, what if, what if...

But even now, if we take a few deep breaths and quiet down, sometimes a still small voice still speaks. What if something beautiful happens? Something true that can't be imagined in advance? Something deeply good in spite of the sometimes harrowing journey?

Karin says, much like farmers, we sow the best crop we can, never knowing exactly what harvest, if any will come to bear.

And we are always grateful to those of you who are willing to share the ride. Some of us just can't resist seeing what happens.

Well, without philosophizing further, and risking becoming tiresome (hopefully it's not too late) here are some of our impending firsts:

We are hosting our first ever Music and Arts Festival on the farm this Memorial Day Weekend. We are gathering together some of our favorite people - musicians, writers, photographers, painters – many of whom have profoundly inspired us over the years. We are going to share some of these people with our extended musical family and let you be inspired as well.

(We will begin announcing the festival line up soon. And of course, Over the Rhine and the Band of Sweethearts will join in daily making a holy ruckus.)

Tickets for Nowhere Else Festival are now available:

http://stores.portmerch.com/overtherhine/nowhere-else-festival.html

There is an FAQ available at each ticket link.

(And if you'd like to be a patron of our inaugural year of this hopefully annual gathering, there are VIP tickets available for those able and willing to donate a bit more. You can arrive a night early and we'll share a special evening of food and music together before the festival officially starts.)

Children age 12 and under are admitted free. (OtR generation next...)

Proceeds from the festival will help us complete our current project/labor of love: Restoring a 140-year-old barn into a performing arts center and our creative home base. We're anxious for you to see the progress. We're anxious for you to see what we are building together.

Another first: As spring begins to make herself known, we are going to host our first Songwriting Workshop at Nowhere Else, this April 8-10. This Friday-through-Sunday small gathering is open to songwriters and music lovers of all ages and ability levels. We will share some meals, laughter and conversation, and we will all try to take a few steps forward together. If you are interested in attending our first songwriting workshop on the farm this spring, please email otrhine@aol.com and put "Songwriting Workshop" in the subject heading.

Finally, it's enough for now, we are playing our very first concerts of the year in Texas this coming weekend. We are hoping for an early taste of spring. We are hoping to see many of our Texas friends.

Over the Rhine in concert:

Saturday, February 20, GRANADA THEATER, Dallas, TX w/special guest Jacob Furr
Sunday, February 21, TEXAS UNION THEATER, Austin, TX

Check out overtherhine.com for more dates.

Drop us a note if you’re so inclined, and tell us about a few of your own impending "firsts..."

otrhine@aol.com

And may you be surprised.

Peace like a river, Love like an ocean,

Linford and Karin

PS Please feel free to share this letter with any number of prized companions, professional daydreamers, night owls, stray dogs, sisters of mercy, orphans, vagabonds, angels who lost their halos, fellow travelers, long distance lovers.

Or print it out on recycled paper, line the antique wire birdcage and let the white doves crap all night long.