Less than a week after it was posted on Change.org, roughly 2,500 people have a signed a petition protesting potential removal of the theater major at St. Ambrose University, Davenport. The petition to the Board of Trustees says that due to economic concerns, the private SAU is considering eliminating the theater major and converting it to a minor. “Removing the theatre major will rob many students of opportunities to take classes that will help them to develop and hone essential skills within and outside of the theatre world,” says the page, started Aug. 28 by SAU student Erika Seabloom. Ambrose... Read More

After the 146th running of The Kentucky Derby was moved from the first Saturday in May to this Saturday, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Quad City Arts has made the difficult decision to cancel its first “Run for the Roses” Derby fundraiser at Crow Valley Golf Club in Davenport. The regional nonprofit group planned to offer live jazz, signature cocktails, wine, and beer, raffles, live auction, gourmet food and prizes for best hat and bow tie, in addition to watching the Triple Crown horse race. Safety precautions were to be taken, including social distancing of tables, capacity limited to 50... Read More

Contrary to many people on Earth, 2020 has been a pretty good year for the Avey Grouws Band, and it’s getting better all the time. The Quad-Cities-based blues rock outfit (whose female lead singer lives in Decorah, Iowa) hit the top 10 on the Billboard Blues Album Chart for its debut disc; is nominated by Blues Blast Magazine for best Debut Album New Artist; was a semi-finalist in this year’s International Blues Challenge, and is the inaugural artist for a new online series presented by River Music Experience and Joy Avenue Media. The new J.A.M. Sessions – starting 6 p.m. Friday with the... Read More

Fontana is in southern California, over 1,800 miles from the Quad-Cities, but that didn’t stop Yuji Baba, a graphic designer and illustrator there, from using The Force (and his amazing talent) to win the Quad City Arts Chalk Art Fest. The 30-year-old California native, who was raised in Osaka, Japan, won the first place of $500 with his gorgeous rendition of a book cover featuring Natalie Portman as Padme from the “Star Wars” prequels. “I’m so honored,” Baba said Monday. “If I had other graphic design work, I would not have been able to enter this festival.” For the fourth-annual... Read More

How do you spell an upcoming film blockbuster? Add star Adam Driver to a sci-fi thriller written and directed by Bettendorf natives Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, co-produced by the legendary Sam Raimi. “We’re still pinching ourselves with this news,” Beck and Woods tweeted on Tuesday of the planned pic “65.” “Adam Driver will be the star of the next film we’re directing for Sony. He’s one of our favorite artists on the planet. Can’t wait to share this special movie with all of you.” In May, Variety reported a reunion for Beck and Woods (both 35-year-old Bettendorf... Read More

Brent Tubbs is a seriously talented improv comedy veteran. A graduate of The Second City Conservatory in Los Angeles, he was a member of multiple improv and sketch comedy groups throughout L.A., has done improv in the Quad-Cities and was a member of Reduced Shakespeare Company, performing around the world. So needless to say, Brent and his seriously talented wife Sara (a musical theater veteran) know how to improvise and get creative. The co-owners of The Spotlight Theatre, 1800n 7th Ave., Moline, continue to come up with ways to entertain, enlighten and educate the Quad-Cities community – even... Read More

The TaxSlayer Center in Moline will join with live-music venues across the U.S. Tuesday to literally or virtually light their facilities in red to promote passage of more federal financial assistance, covering lost income due to the pandemic. Spearheaded by the #WeMakeEvents coalition, the #RedAlertRESTART campaign seeks to bring awareness to the dire situation live music faces if Capitol Hill does not supply support for venues that have been shuttered since mid-March to slow the spread of Covid, according to a recent piece in Billboard. On Tuesday night, the venues are encouraged to be lit red... Read More

More than 170 fans of independent film converged on the Midway Drive-In Theatre in Sterling, Ill., for the first-annual Northwest Illinois Film Festival on Aug. 26. Most came from the Northwest Illinois region, some from Chicagoland, and one flew in from Los Angeles, according to the festival organizer, the Northwest Illinois Film Office (NIFO). The event was a celebration of Illinois indie filmmakers, featuring 11 short films — the night’s theme was “Shorts-A-Palooza.” “The feedback from both the audience and the filmmakers was very positive,” NIFO executive director Gary Camarano... Read More

Saturday In The Arts is a weekly feature looking at a person, topic, or trend of interest in the Quad-Cities and nationwide.   “Hope” is the thing with feathers – That perches in the soul – And sings the tune without the words – And never stops – at all True to Emily Dickinson’s 1861 poem, Living Proof Exhibit (LPE) offers that most priceless, transcendent thing – hope – through free programs that provide arts opportunities to cancer patients, survivors, family members and caregivers. The Moline-based nonprofit is celebrating its 10-year anniversary this year... Read More

A prestigious national arts award is back under the baton of a Quad-Cities conductor. Nicolas Propes of LeClaire, who leads the Big River Brass Band, was announced this week as winner of the American Prize in conducting band/wind ensemble, community/schools division for 2019-20. “I was very honored to be selected,” Propes, a 40-year-old native of Ames, Iowa, said Friday. He applied last summer with a resume and videos of him leading the band. A whole host of judges from across the country review the applications and narrow them down to semi-finalists and finalists, he said. “It’s actually... Read More