Dawn and On is rising again, with the popular festival hosted by Quad-Cities jam band The Dawn taking place all-day Saturday, July 9 at Len Brown’s North Shore Inn in Moline. Drawing off the success of their inaugural fest last summer which drew more than 1,000 fans, this year’s event will feature regional and national touring acts including Soap, Joe Marcinek, Driftless Sisters and The Candy Makers.  The Dawn will once again headline the event. The Dawn — Sean Ryan on vocals and guitars, Jordan VanOpdoorp on vocals and keyboards, Garrin Jost on bass and Josh Womack on drums – have... Read More

With one-of-a-kind memorabilia and content from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y. and a cool interactive component and feel, the Hall of Fame Tour at Modern Woodmen Park hit a home run with me and my son when we went to see it this week. The exhibit is open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday in the parking lot adjacent to Modern Woodmen Park. Tickets are $29 for adults, $25 for 60-over and military, $20 for students 11-over and $13 for kids 4-10. Sean Leary and his son Jackson enjoyed checking out the Hall of Fame exhibit in Davenport. When... Read More

Have you ever wondered if Countryside Community Theater was ever going to produce the off-Broadway show featuring such hits as “Dream Lover,” “Stupid Cupid” and “Lollipop?” Well, Wonderette no more. All dumb puns aside, Countryside will be debuting “The Marvelous Wonderettes” July 8-9 and 15-16 at 7PM and July 10 & 17 at 2PM at The Village Theatre in the Village of East Davenport. The smash off-Broadway hit takes you to the 1958 Springfield High School prom where we meet the Wonderettes, four girls with hopes and dreams as big as their crinoline skirts. As we learn about their... Read More

They may have only gone to the crossroads to catch the school bus, and the darkest indigo lyrics they’ve sung are likely about not getting what they wanted for Christmas, but that won’t stop a number of local kids from learning about playing and singing the blues Saturday during the Blues Skool Program at the Mississippi Valley Blues Fest. “BlueSKool is one of the best things we ever came up with,” said Stan Furlong, a member of the Mississippi Valley Blues Society and an organizer of the event. “It’s important because we don’t want people in the future to be ignorant of the source... Read More

Drenched by rain and pushed around by the rising river, organizers of the Mississippi Valley Blues Fest have had ample reason to sing down-on-their-luck dirges over the past few years, even having to cancel last year’s event, but festival organizers are singing a happy tune going into the 31st annual fest this weekend. (For more info, see their site at http://mvbs.org/fest/.) “We feel good and optimistic about this year’s Festival,” said Stan Furlong, a member of the Mississippi Valley Blues Society and an organizer of the event. “The river is about six feet below the sidewalk in LeClaire... Read More

It’s hard to believe that anything could be better than cover bands, karaoke and gravy, unless it’s a Nickelback cover band that leads a karaoke version of “Call Me Maybe” re-titled “Call Me Gravy,” as they’re making gravy, but, as incomprehensible as it may be even within the realm of quantum physics, Andrew King insists that the new Bix Beiderbomb Presents MAY be even better than that. MAY be. He’s not making any promises or guarantees. So, if your to-do list for the week includes downing cheap beer, laughing at cheap comedy, being surprised by cheap thrills and stories and getting... Read More

Wow! Guns and Hoses are playing the Quad-Cities! Wait a minute . . . Ok, maybe it isn’t Axl, Slash, Duff and the boys, but Guns and Hoses is part of another pretty exciting event going on this weekend – Firecracker Run. The entertainment event headlined by a 10K run and 5K run/walk for charity takes place beginning at 7:30 a.m. July 4 and runs through the morning and early afternoon with a variety of races, from competitive jaunts to hospital bed races featuring guys in Elvis costumes to the aforementioned Guns and Hoses competition between area police and firefighters, racing against each... Read More

One of America’s most popular children’s-book characters is ready to jump-start the summer in the Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse presentation “Lyle The Crocodile,” opening this week and running through July 23 at the Rock Island dinner theatre. A delightful musical adapted from Bernard Waber’s kids’-lit series, this magical family entertainment is filled with laughter, songs, and happiness, and boasts a first-rate cast of professional talents. Circa ’21 will present “Lyle” on scheduled Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday mornings and afternoons through July 23.... Read More

Kalispell is ready to cast his spell on local music fans. The Davenport-based Cartouche Records artist will be performing at 7 p.m. Monday, June 27 at Daytrotter, 324 Brady St., Davenport, along with Dan Blakeslee. Tickets are $8 in advance, $12 at the door. Kalispell’s new record, “Printer’s Son”, was released on Davenport’s Cartouche Records on June 3. Connecting an improvisational heart with meticulously constructed arteries of melody, it eschews the stomp-clap boom-chuck trends of indie-folk, instead giving nods to the entranced sonic tapestries of Phillip Glass and lyrical... Read More

Bucktown is always a hot spot for fun and enlightening local arts programming, but this Friday, it’s going to be even more so. The Davenport venue at 225 E 2nd St, Davenport, is holding a special show, the Bucktown Bash, from 6 to 10 to raise money for programing, operating expenses, and advertising for MidCoast Fine Arts. The 11th annual event to help raise awareness for local artists and funds for the Bucktown venue as well as Midcoast Fine Arts will have an outdoor concert featuring Juliana &  Soul Purpose, Bucktown Revue, and Waking Robots – three pretty awesome local bands. Vendors... Read More