Just as last year was unusual for the Quad City Arts Metro Arts Youth Apprenticeship Program, this summer also is unique. ​ Far fewer students – ages 15 to 21 – are participating, in fewer projects, and they are wearing face coverings and are social distancing, as is the current practice. That does not mean that the two outdoor murals and improvisational comedy being created over the past five weeks are any less meaningful, important or impressive. “Every Metro Arts site has a collection of masks available, if the student either doesn’t have one or has forgotten theirs that day, so we... Read More

Outdoor live music in the Quad Cities is officially in full swing – and there’s no exception at Crawford Brew Works! Join Crawford Brew Works (3659 Devils Glen Road Bettendorf) for their Summer Patio Series every Saturday night from 7 – 10 p.m. In case of rain, everything will be moved inside. The show must go on! Bobby Ray Bunch will be kicking off the jams for the first outdoor concert this Saturday night. Check out the Facebook event page at https://www.facebook.com/events/266146674612256/ for updates on who will be playing each week.   For more fun things to do in the Quad Cities... Read More

The Quad City Symphony Orchestra (QCSO) plans to reschedule its Quad City Bank & Trust Riverfront Pops event to Saturday, Sept. 12, at 7 p.m., back at its longtime home at Davenport’s LeClaire Park. It previously was scheduled for Arsenal Island (for the second time) on Aug. 15. The postponed show will still celebrate the music of Fleetwood Mac, and will close with the traditional rousing renditions of Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture” and Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever,” set to a brilliant fireworks display. “I am so proud of the work that our team is doing in collaboration... Read More

Welcome to the QuadCities.com Virtual Art Gallery! In this feature, we’re spotlighting area artists and their work. Every Tuesday we’ll feature a new local artist. It’s free and our way of showcasing awesome area artists and allowing them to include a link to their own online gallery or patreon! If you’d like to be included in the gallery, just send your bio, a headshot pic of yourself and up to a half-dozen .jpgs of your art to Sean@QuadCities.com. We look forward to adding YOU to the gallery! Our latest artist is Glen Lowry! Glen’s work is mostly in the prints and painting realms,... Read More

The local arts scene took a huge blow this spring when Covid-19 shut down the entertainment industry. But it takes a lot more than a pandemic to get Quad-Cities artists down and out. And it takes even more to get the big idea makers to stop dreaming. Enter Royce Barnett, Mr. Crunk Chocolate. Barnett, a Quad City resident and popular voice on social media and podcast platforms, where he often posts under the name Crunk Chocolate, has launched Quad-Cities Repping, a one stop shop Spotify playlist of Q-C artists. “The Ultimate Goal is to have The most complete Q-C Anthology of our local artists,”... Read More

Remote learning and working remotely have become a way of life for many over the past several months. To continue this trend, the Figge is creating a new interactive exhibition that encourages participation by people of all ages to engage by simply sending an email from a phone, tablet or computer. All participation is electronic whether you are in the museum or at home.  Remote Control will open in the Figge’s second-floor Mary Waterman Gildehaus Community Gallery beginning Friday, July 10. This exhibition allows for remote play through a variety of activities and games, but participation from... Read More

QuadCities.com has debuted a new commercial! It’ll be running on local TV, cable channels and internet sites, and you can check it out here:  Read More

The Quad Cities has a new remedy for all that ails them, as Dr. San Guinary brings his Creature Feature T.V. program to the Saturday night airwaves at 11 p.m. starting on July 4 on COZI 6.3. The one-hour program, hosted by Doc and his cast of cutie nurses and wacky characters, showcases a wide variety of horror and science fiction schlock classics, as well as locally produced material and shorts from around the globe. The show, which sometimes gets a little risqué with its cheesy comedy, is aimed at teenagers and adults, with lots of pop culture references and in-jokes from the last 40 years,... Read More

Few people outside the small local comedy community realized that Andrew King moved away from the Quad-Cities this month. Few people outside the small local comedy community know who Andrew King is. But the departure of the soon-to-be-30-year-old King, who finally made a long covid-postponed move to Providence, R.I. in late June, is a real creative diminishment to the local arts scene. King was one of the most original characters on the Quad-Cities entertainment scene. He brought a unique voice, persona and artistic vision to the local stage. With an asymmetrical poof of hair, bookish glasses,... Read More

Rock Island-based Quad City Arts was the only organization in the immediate Q-C to earn funding Wednesday from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act grant. Like most of the 855 organizations funded nationwide, the regional nonprofit will get $50,000, on top of a previously approved $30,000 NEA grant last month that was unrelated to Covid-19 relief. Quad City Arts this spring did get Covid-19 relief funding through the federal Paycheck Protection Program, executive director Kevin Maynard said Thursday. Part of the criteria for new funding... Read More