We knew that Over The Rhine’s Nowhere Else Festival was going to be something special. We've heard about the meals, the music, the songs being sung under a big tent in their wide Ohio backyard. And yes, we grew up seeing Over The Rhine play show after breathtaking show under a similar tent at the Cornerstone Festival in West Central Illinois. We knew it would be great. But we were still not prepared for just how wonderful two days of understated, organic, family-style music could be. A steady drizzle of rain couldn't come close to dampening the spirits on that rural farm, and on this episode of the podcast, we do our best to take you there.

One of the hallmarks of Nowhere Else is that Karin and Linford of Over The Rhine always assemble a treasure trove of talent to accompany them for their “musical family reunion.” This cast – often comprised of fellow Americana (and Americana-adjacent) artists they have met out on the road – play concerts, participate in writer rounds, and offer creative workshops and seminars. While some will usually be relatively familiar to fans of this kind of music – and at least one will have earned “legend” status – there will always be at least a few that are relative unknowns. Though she has been a regular at Nowhere Else in recent years, we were not familiar with soul / gospel / r&b artist and full-time “culture coach” Nikki Lerner until shortly before the festival. But after we attended her morning session, called “Finding Your Voice Through Improv,” we knew she needed to join us on the podcast. I’m sure you will find her just as brilliant, insightful, hilarious, and soulful as we have.

And Bruce has loaded up the Jukebox with records from ALL of the artists on this year’s Nowhere Else lineup. In addition to Nikki, you’ll hear tunes from Iris Dement, Carrie Newcomer, Hayes Carll, The Winetree, Courtney Marie Andrews, Carolina Story, John Fullbright; Wille Tea Taylor, Ben Sollee, Vance Gilbert, and of course, Over the Rhine.

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For more info visit the SHOW NOTES page at TrueTunes.com/Lerner

For more info about the Nowhere Else Festival (or to order tickets for Sept ’23) go to http://www.nowhereelsefestival.com/