DATE: September 1-3, 2023
LOCATION: Nowhere Farm, OH
LINEUP: Karin, Linford
REVIEW BY:
Annoucement:
Always a thrill to announce we’ll be reconvening the Band of Sweethearts to help us make a holy ruckus at this year’s Nowhere Else Festival:
Jay Bellerose: Drums and Percussion
Jen Condos: Hollow Body Bass
Eric Heywood: Pedal Steel and Electric Guitar
We’ll be performing the Tenth Anniversary Concert of the double album we made together back in 2013, Meet Me At The Edge Of The World. (Produced by The Captain, Joe Henry, and recorded and mixed by Ryan Freeland, with significant musical contributions from Patrick Warren and Mark Goldenberg, and lovely guest appearances by Aimee Mann, David Piltch and Van Dyke Parks.)
When Jay and Jen and Eric approached us in the recording studio and told us they wanted to take these songs on the road with us, at first, we Midwesterners thought they were just being extra nice. Eventually we realized they were serious. We put 11 people on a tour bus, and toured much of North America that fall, and then played a string of Christmas concerts in December. (The following year we got together and recorded Blood Oranges In The Snow.)
The Band of Sweethearts has been able to join us at most of the Nowhere Else Festivals to date, and we still find quite a few additional opportunities to get together and make music. It’s something we never take for granted.
We’re also grateful to our audience for collaborating with us once again on Meet Me At The Edge Of The World, to make vivid, soulful art. We weren’t expecting a double album, but that’s what we landed. Twins! It was widely received as some of our best work, and wouldn’t have been possible without the generosity of one of the best listening audiences in the world.
Meet Me At The Edge Of The World chronicled our decision to leave the city and move out into the rolling fields to a little hideaway farm, “a place where we could rest awhile, and hummingbirds could thrum for miles, and we could leave the edges wild, and let the birds sing through us. Fires where all our sparks could scatter, midnight stars could drop their ladders...”
We don’t always make time to go back and listen to our own records, but we’ve been enjoying playing albums from start to finish in the loft of the barn, and thought we’d try this approach at the festival this year. We’ve been listening to Meet Me... to prepare. What a joy to pop the headphones on and re-live such a fertile musical chapter. So many of these songs still resonate and vibrate with meaning for us.
So Friday night, September 1st, Karin and I will play a special concert that meanders back through our many albums over the years, and of course we’ll play some new songs too. But come Saturday night, the Sweethearts will lean into the musical harness with us, and we’ll play Disc One of Meet Me, and then on Sunday night, Disc Two. Three standalone concerts over the course of the festival.
If you pitched in to help us make Meet Me At The Edge Of The World, maybe you’d like to join us this Labor Day Wknd on the farm for a little celebration. Lift a glass to the good stuff, the years and miles, the tears and smiles. After all, that’s why we call it an extended musical family reunion. Chk out
nowhereelsefestival.com for all the details.
Over the next two weeks as the festival approaches, we’ll highlight the many additional artists who will be coming to the farm to offer their songs. It always feels like an embarrassment of riches to watch it all go down in our backyard. We’re all in for a treat this year.
Hope to see you on the farm in two weeks!
Linford and Karin and the always amazing Nowhere Else Festival Team
Nowhere Else Festival Schedule 2023
FRIDAY, September 1
4pm Gates Open/Barn Art Gallery Open w/Refreshments
5:30pm VIP picnic
7:30pm Karin and Linford of Over the Rhine in Concert
SATURDAY, September 2
9am Gates Open/Barn Art Gallery Open
10am — Workshops, Artists Presenting Work, TBA
THE MUSIC
1pm - 1:45pm Carolina Story
2pm - 2:30pm Joshua Thomas
2:45pm - 3:30pm RJ Cowdery
3:45pm - 4:30pm Jeffrey Foucalt (w/Eric Heywood)
5pm - 6pm David Wax Museum
6:30pm - 7:30pm Vance Gilbert
8pm Over the Rhine and the Band of Sweethearts (Meet Me At The Edge Of The World - Record One - Tenth Anniversary Concert)
SUNDAY, September 3
9am Gates Open/Barn Art Gallery Open
10am — Workshops, Artists Presenting Work, TBA
THE MUSIC
1pm - 2pm Beatles Brunch - The Newbees
2:30 - 3:45 The Wild Edges Bramble Ramble ~ Songwriters In The Round: Linford and Karin, Vance Gilbert, David and Suz, Jeffrey Foucalt, Carolina Story
4:15pm - 5:15pm Buffalo Wabs and the Price Hill Hustle
5:30 - 6:15 Willy Tea Taylor
6:30pm - 7:30pm Scott Mulvahill and Ben Sollee
8pm Over the Rhine and the Band of Sweethearts (Meet Me At The Edge Of The World - Record Two - Tenth Anniversary Concert)
Bonfire to follow, weather permitting.
We are still very much basking in the afterglow of this year’s Nowhere Else Festival. These gatherings just keep getting better every year. (Or at least there are always a handful of our team members who say things along the lines of, I think that was my favorite so far!)
The music and workshops that take place here on a little hideaway farm in Ohio are, simply put, world-class.
Although Karin and I thrill to provide the place, set the tone and curate the artists who offer their work, this is all so much bigger than just two songwriters.
We appreciate the support of all of you who bought tickets. And of course, thanks as always to the dozens of amazing volunteers who pitch in — far too many to name.
The deserving folks listed below worked so hard to help make such a great gathering possible in 2023. Some of these are seasoned professionals from the corporate world, who have verbalized that they have never had the privilege of working with such an incredible team. We are humbled and heartened by all the generosity and hard work. Many of the team leaders still volunteer and donate many hours of their time each year to this labor of love.
If you were able to attend, and any of these individuals made your weekend especially enjoyable in some particular way, please feel free to add a note in the comments. We are so grateful.
2023 Nowhere Else Festival Team
Chip Taylor at Port Merch: Ticketing and Customer Relations
Drew Vogel: Festival Management/VIP Dinner/Food Trucks/Set Up
Kathleen Kyle: Artist & Staff Hospitality
Bill Ivester: Festival and Artist Merch/Photography
Julie Brown and Caley Bolderson: Volunteer Coordination/Site Prep
Sharon & Patterson Hicks, Stephanie Eriksen: Festival Check In/Registration/Supplies/Site Prep
Rob Fugate: Production Manager/FOH Sound/Sound Design
Dave Voight: Monitor Engineer/Workshops
Laney McCormick: Stage Manager
Dan Williams: Comptroller
Grant Cambridge/Event Enterprises: Production/Sound and Lights
Alex Rhinehart: Site Management/Infrastructure/Permaculture/Set Up/Light Towers/Signage/Parking
Dr. Will Glenn: Festival Doc/Site Prep/Filtered Water Stations/First Aid
Suzanne Marie Lambert: Barn Gallery/Children’s Workshop
Myron & Molly Detweiler: Silent Auction/Supplies/Beverages/Service/Sommelier/Children’s Workshop
Joel and Barb Cox: Children’s Workshop/Photography
Darrin and Gina Ballman: Sommelier/Service/Photography
Nick Purdy/Wild Heaven: Craft Beverages/Service
Eric King: Festival Design/Site Map/Signage/Website/Photography
Owen Brock: Festival Design/Schedule/Marketing
Candie Koons: Cleaning/Prep
Dale Guindon: Site infrastructure/Maintenance/Building/Carpentry
Dr. Jeffrey Baker: Security
Big Mike Imhoff: Security
Clinton County Sheriff’s Office: Security
Alex Lawhon at Port Merch: Festival Merch Production/Shipping/Logistics
Clinton Reno: Festival Design/Posters/T-Shirts
Aaron Sharpe/Lucius Q: VIP Picnic Catering
Nellie Ashmore/That Girl’s Flowers: Fresh Flowers
Barb Regan: Flower Arrangements
Chuck Pfahler/Adesso: Espresso and Coffee/Mocktails
Jon Branstrator: Golf Cart/Mulch
Claudia Richmond: Team Lunaverse
Ben Reiter: Team Lunaverse/Site Assistance
The organizations and businesses below have all assisted us multiple years:
Wilmington College Women’s Basketball Team: Parking
TownPlace Suites by Marriott (Wilmington, Ohio)
Hampton Inn (Wilmington, Ohio)
Clinton County Convention & Visitors Bureau
Zahler & Associates: Festival Insurance
Finally, none of this would be possible without the investors and donors, who have stepped forward over the years to support the vision of Nowhere Else with funding and financial gifts. A place where music, the arts, community and a piece of unpaved earth can all flourish.
Again, Thank You all for being part of this labor of love.
