(You knew I wasn’t going to get through a whole series on bands at Cornerstone Festival without mentioning Over the Rhine, right?)
Over the Rhine played their first show on the new band stage when Cornerstone first moved out to the farm on Bushnell, Illinois and they’ve played almost every year since. The band has carved a unique slot at the festival amongst all the loud rock and roll with a little more lilting, somber sound. It’s an annual tradition to close out at least one day on the Gallery Stage at midnight with Karin Bergquist singing you to sleep. Keyboard player/songwriter Linford Detweiler says it feels almost “like a midnight mass.”
At Cornerstone 2008, the festival celebrated their 25th anniversary with a series of shows on the main stage by various artists. Over the Rhine took the front of a small stage in the middle of the crowd and charmed everyone with a cover of “Angel Band.”
This was one of my all-time favorite Cornerstone shows, I think, even though it was only 20 minutes or so. I was right down front, just to the left and in front of where this video was shot from. The music was beautiful (especially this song and “Orphan Girl”), and the setting was very nice, with the moon rising and the crowd on the hill prematurely lighting their candles (intended for a later candlelight service).