When the Covid pandemic shut life down in mid-March, Davenport singer-songwriter Jordan Danielsen was shocked to find his full-time work gone. For years, he’s performed within a two-hour radius of the Quad-Cities, at casinos, wineries, bars, breweries, and senior-citizen homes — all places that closed. Like  other artists, Danielsen shifted his focus to online and outdoor performing, and he’s survived. “August and September is usually my busiest time, and it was this year too,” he said this week. “A lot of private parties, stuff like that. It’s still nice enough to be out on... Read More

Saturday In The Arts is a weekly look at a personality, place, trend or topic of interest to the Quad-Cities. It runs every Saturday morning on your site for fun, free, local entertainment and features, QuadCities.com. Tom Vaccaro is seven years older than the beloved TV/film actor Michael J. Fox, but it was just a year ago that the Davenporter was diagnosed with the disease that’s long affected Fox – Parkinson’s. The veteran actor-musician-illustrator (who was featured in the Black Box Theatre’s radio play in August) thinks he had symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD) before he was diagnosed... Read More

Many of the works the Figge Art Museum has collected over the past few years provide insight into modern American life from various points of view. Beginning Saturday, New American Scene: Recent Acquisitions to the Figge Collection will be displayed on the second-floor Gildehaus Gallery, examining some of these modern perspectives on American life with 15 featured works that have been added to the museum’s collection in the last five years. The “American Scene” is a term applied predominantly to representational paintings made in the first half of the 20th century that captured American... Read More

Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films have been busy doing outdoor shooting at a restored Bettendorf schoolhouse. The footage will be used in the Forest Grove School’s new museum film and their new documentary feature, Resurrecting Forest Grove. The Rundles’ are in post-production on the schoolhouse museum film and hope to have it wrapped in November. Resurrecting Forest Grove’s release date has been pushed back to early 2022 due to the Covid pandemic. “We are in fundraising mode again for the documentary,” producer Tammy Rundle said recently. “The pandemic has... Read More

Ten years ago, when Davenport jazz drummer Josh Duffee first performed with jazz singer Cecile McLorin Salvant in England, he knew he was in the presence of some kind of genius. This week, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation agreed, awarding the 31-year-old from Brooklyn, N.Y. one of its 21 “genius grants.” The foundation – which “supports creative people, effective institutions, and influential networks building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world” — each year hands out the MacArthur Fellowship, a $625,000, no-strings-attached grant for individuals who have shown... Read More

Like many artistic endeavors since March, the Quad City Arts’ subscription series of benefit parties featuring artists from the Visiting Artist Series program will move online this fall with a virtual dinner and a show. Performing Arts Signature Series, or PASS, will not have in-person events for the fall. The series will instead offer a unique experience with take-out from a premium local restaurant paired with access to an online performance by a visiting artist who recorded a performance specifically for this event. The following performers are scheduled to appear: Thursday, Oct. 15: John... Read More

Like most musicians, Joe Nichols is just glad to be back playing live in front of a paying audience. The 43-year-old Arkansas native will bring his traditional country sound to Murphy Park at The Bend, East Moline, Saturday at 8 p.m. It’s an acoustic show with a few other accompanying performers, and two opening acts. This is the first concert at the park (next to The Hyatt, Bend Event Center, and near The Rust Belt) since Sept. 11, 2019, when Murphy Park concluded its 2019 summer concert series. “Any time we can play live, we look forward to it,” Nichols, who lives in Tyler, Tex., said in... Read More

EAST MOLINE – Leaders of the hospitality industry across the Quad-Cities and Illinois are trying to put a positive spin on an economy devastated by coronavirus. Tuesday wrapped up a day and a half of meetings as Visit Quad Cities hosted the Illinois Council of Convention & Visitor Bureaus (ICCVB) for its fall conference at the Bend Event Center. “It was a great opportunity for Visit Quad Cities to host this event. We had 30 chief executive officers from around the state of Illinois,” Dave Herrell, president/CEO of Visit Quad Cities, said Tuesday, noting an additional 100 people who work... Read More

The past few weeks have been busy and unprecedented for the Quad City Symphony Orchestra, thanks to Covid-19. Executive director Brian Baxter said Monday that the Quad City Bank & Trust Riverfront Pops Sept. 12 went extremely well, given that rain threatened that day, and they wrestled with a complex new seating arrangement in LeClaire Park. “It was an unbelievable undertaking,” he said. “It was a tremendous effort on the part of our staff and our volunteers. The amount of work it took to make the safety precautions a reality was a lot. On top of making sure it’s safe in the Covid pandemic... Read More

In its major annual fundraiser, the Putnam Museum and Science Center, 1717 W. 12th St., Davenport, will hold a virtual Mad Scientist Ball starting at 6 p.m., Oct. 17, on Zoom. Reservations are due this Friday, Oct. 9. The event – originally planned to be held in person – will help the Putnam to raise necessary funds for the support of programs, services and collections such as summer camps, rotating and permanent exhibits, and virtual learning. This virtual event includes an interactive science experiment, instruction from a local mixologist on crafting a signature cocktail, as well as... Read More