Over the Rhine

Recently discovered this husband-wife duo who hail from Ohio and have been playing together since 1990. Bassist/pianist/guitarist Linford Detweiler and vocalist/guitarist Karin Bergquist met at Malone College in Canton, OH where they they started Over the Rhine, originally a 4-person rock band. Now, it’s just the two of them with instrumentalists pulled in for albums and shows.

They have recorded quite a few albums (around 20, if you include live albums, compilations, and a couple solo projects by Karin) and before developing their own following opened for artists like Bob Dylan. From what I have heard so far , each album explores some new corner. They evolve and try new things with their music that is poetic but not over-saturated, aching but not hopeless, creative and well-crafted, Christian without being overtly-so.

From the OTR website, Linford on songwriting:

“[My job description is] creating spaces where good things can happen [...] Karin and I write songs that allow her voice to bloom, and we find musicians who know how to take what we do and make it spark and breathe, twitch and moan. We try to work with musicians who inspire us, people whose company we enjoy. And we try to write music that in little ways helps to heal the wounds that life has dealt us or the wounds we’ve dealt ourselves. We try to write songs that can hum joyfully at the stars when something good goes down. We try to write tunes capable of whispering to a sleeping child that in spite of everything, somehow, all is well. We try to write words that help us learn to tell the truth to ourselves and others. That’s a big part of all this. Music is a wonderful platform for discovering what we believe is true. But Over the Rhine is ultimately the music that Karin and I find within and without for her to sing.”

Check out their website to read a more extensive bio, check out their albums, purchase a special blend of fair-trade coffee, read their poem of the week, and sign up for songwriting workshops.