Over the Rhine is an American, Cincinnati-based folk music band, the core of which is the husband-and-wife team of pianist/guitarist/bassist Linford Detweiler and vocalist/guitarist Karin Bergquist. The band began as a quartet with guitarist Ric Hordinski and drummer Brian Kelley. Hordinski left the band in December 1996, and Kelley continued to play into 1997 before departing. The original foursome reunited in December 2008 at The Taft Theatre (in Cincinnati) to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the formation of the band, and again in the summer of 2010 at Ric's studio, "the Monastery", to play the album Good Dog Bad Dog live, in its entirety.
The band's namesake and place of origin is the Cincinnati, Ohio neighborhood Over-the-Rhine.[1] Karin attended school in Barnesville, Ohio and graduated from Barnesville High School in 1984.[2] She then went to Malone University, located in Canton, Ohio, where she met Linford. Karin and Linford were married in the fall of 1996 in Cincinnati and several years ago relocated to a pre-Civil War farmhouse, which they named "The Nowhere Farm", near Martinsville, Ohio.
Over the Rhine is now primarily Bergquist (vocals, acoustic guitar, piano) and Detweiler (keyboards, electric bass, vocals) accompanied by complementary musicians on albums and tours. Over the years, they have toured and recorded in many variations. They have shared the stage with Bob Dylan, John Prine, Adrian Belew, Squeeze, Ani DiFranco, My Morning Jacket, Hem, and toured as "adjunct" members of Cowboy Junkies.
Over the Rhine formed in the spring of 1989,[1] at a time when Detweiler, Hordinski, and Kelley were also touring as part of the final incarnation of Servant.[3] Over the Rhine independently released their first two albums,Till We Have Faces, in 1991 (named for the C. S. Lewis book of the same title) and Patience in 1992. Later in 1992, Over the Rhine signed with label giant I.R.S. Records, and both Till We Have Faces and Patience were re-issued. In 1994, I.R.S. fully funded the band's third LP, Eve, which was released to rave reviews.
When I.R.S. records was bought out in 1996, Over the Rhine was released from their five-album contract and went on to independently release Good Dog, Bad Dog and The Darkest Night of the Year, both of which outsold the three previous I.R.S. releases combined.
In 2001, Over the Rhine signed with Virgin Records/Back Porch and released Films for Radio to near universal acclaim before releasing double album Ohio in 2003.[4][5]Paste magazine granted one of its first five-star reviews to Ohio.
Between 1999 and 2004, Linford recorded and released three solo projects composed of home-recorded acoustic, piano-based music.
Over the Rhine's next album, Drunkard's Prayer, was released on March 29, 2005.
In 2007, Over the Rhine started their own independent label, Great Speckled Dog (named after their Great Dane, Elroy[1]).The Trumpet Child and the "Live From Nowhere" series have been released on Great Speckled Dog.
In January 2008, Paste's video podcast interviewed Over the Rhine and featured a live performance.[6]
Over the Rhine's album The Long Surrender was released nationally on February 8, 2011, on the band's own Great Speckled Dog label. It was recorded in California with producer Joe Henry, and contains a duet with Lucinda Williams on "Undamned" and two songs co-written with Joe Henry. Paste named Over the Rhine's The Long Surrender one of the Top 50 Best Records of the year.[7]
Over the Rhine's album Meet Me at the Edge of the World is a double album that was produced by Joe Henry. The songs were recorded in two sessions at The Garfield House in South Pasadena in 2013: disc one, Sacred Ground, March 28–30 and disc two, Blue Jean Sky, April 1–3. Aimee Mann appears as a special guest vocalist on the song "Don't Let The Bastards Get You Down".[8] The album was released nationally on September 3, 2013.
On March 15, 2019, Over the Rhine released Love & Revelation, on their own Great Speckled Dog Record label. The album was produced by the band and recorded and mixed by Ryan Freeland. The first single from the album, the title track, was premiered by Paste almost two months earlier.[9] The album premiered on Rolling Stone along with a brief article about the album and the duo's creative process.[10] The album was met with critical acclaim from sources including No Depression and Associated Press, who wrote "Love & Revelation is a subdued but lovely celebration...It won't surprise longtime fans that the topics are often sad and the tempos mostly slow, all the better to showcase Bergquist's warm, wise, honest alto. She sounds better than ever, with a depth and richness that makes her voice resonate like a prayer."[11]
OnMemorial Day weekend of 2016, Over the Rhine hosted and curated the first "Nowhere Else Festival" on their farmland about 50 miles away from Cincinnati, Ohio. The festival was an annual event on the same weekend each year[13] until COVID-19 forced the festival to take a hiatus for the 2020 edition. For 2021, due to COVID-19, the festival was moved to Labor Day weekend. In 2022, Over the Rhine announced the move to September was permanent.
2007 - Discount Fireworks (Back Porch Records; career-spanning compilation plus one unreleased song)
2007 - For The Kids Three! Over the Rhine contributed an original tune titled "The Poopsmith Song" for this compilation.
2009 - Notes from the Monastery (Over the Rhine contributed the cover of "Hard Times (Come Again No More)" and a new version of "Flown Free" which was a digital only bonus track)
2011 - Paint it Black: An Alt-Country Tribute to the Rolling Stones Over the Rhine contributed the Rolling Stones cover "Waiting On a Friend"
2010 - "OTR 2010 Demos" (A digital gift of 12 demos given to those fans who pre-ordered/funded The Long Surrender "Let's Make a Record")
2012 - "OtR 2012 Demos" (A digital gift of 12 demos given to those fans who pre-ordered/funded The Farm "Let's Make a Record" which became Meet Me At The Edge Of The World)
2013 - Five Good Reasons To Meet Me (Noisetrade.com Exclusive compilation of tracks from "Meet Me At The Edge Of The World".)[15]
2014 - "Even The Snow Turns Blue" (An Over the Rhine Christmas compilation, Digital only download for Noisetrade.com featuring selections from all three holiday records by the band.)[16]
