To help her cope with a traumatic, unprecedented year, Rock Island native Lissie Maurus turned to some of her favorite songs by female artists. The 38-year-old, internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter recorded five of them for a new EP of covers, “Thank You To The Flowers,” out now via Cooking Vinyl. Listen to or purchase the EP here. It features the new single, “Wrecking Ball” – a stunning take on the Miley Cyrus mega-hit – with a video produced by fellow Rock Island High School alum Ben Chappell. “Thank you to Miley Cyrus and the brilliant writers who created this unbelievable... Read More

You can help honor and support Iowa arts and culture this Friday, Dec. 11, as the 9th-annual Celebrate Iowa Gala will be hosted virtually from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The state’s premier cultural celebration, presented by the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs (IDCA), will offer guests once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to meet notable Iowans, watch an Iowa movie star add his handprints to the Wall of Fame at the State Historical Museum of Iowa, and enjoy musical performances at iconic Iowa venues, including the American Gothic House in Eldon and the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake. The virtual event also... Read More

Midwest Monster Fest Cares will be holding an auction of horror and monster culture memorabilia, with proceeds going to Linnea Quigleys Animal Rescue called Moulin Rouge! The auction is live now and items will be added all throughout the weekend! Check it out here! New items will be posted every hour til 5pm and all day Sunday! Get yourself something pretty cool or do a little holiday shopping! Items signed by Linnea Quigley, Michael St Michaels (Big Ronnie) donated by Dr San Guinary Creature Feature, Stone Sour, Randy Couture, Wyatt Weed, Shaun Foist drummer Breaking Benjamin,... Read More

Dawes will be performing its exceptional debut album North Hills from front to back as a live stream THIS FRIDAY, Dec. 4th and Raccoon Motel will be co-promoting this show exclusively with the band. Grab your tickets below. The show begins at 8 pm central and there is a 48-hour rebroadcast so if you are tied up at that time, you can use your access code to view anytime over the weekend. As we all continue to navigate this bummer of a live music year, we here at Codfish Hollow and the Raccoon Motel want to keep providing the best opportunities to experience some form of live concert performance... Read More

To say it’s been a difficult year for creators in the local, and national, arts scene is a massive understatement. All of us have lost money, jobs, our careers and found our artistic outlets severely curtailed. Any of us within the live performance and audience interaction area — from live music to theater to book signings — have had our livelihoods completely decimated. One local creator, however, Kristin Bruchmann, is looking to help out. She told me recently, “I’ve been quite concerned about the number of folks in the Q-C arts scene who have lost their livelihoods... Read More

MOLINE, ILLINOIS – WQPT, Quad Cities PBS is focusing on educational outreach using the PBS documentary The Gene: An Intimate History for a special Teacher Training session on Thursday, December 3 at 6:30 p.m. Dr. Nadine Vincenten, a Research Fellow for the Personal Genetics Education Project working with the Harvard Medical School’s Department of Genetics pgEd (Personal Genetics Education Project), will be facilitating the training event.  The Department of Genetics consists of a team of scientists, social scientists, educators, and community organizers, who talk about genetics in every... Read More

As we all continue to navigate this bummer of a live music year, we here at Codfish Hollow and the Raccoon Motel want to keep providing the best opportunities to experience some form of live concert performance until we can all get back to being in the same rooms together. All of the following Motel and Codfish alums have ticketed live streams available in the coming weeks. Please give the listings a look. For every ticket purchased to any of these streams, a portion of the ticket price comes back to our venues and will help us get through this quagmire and back to doing what we all want to be... 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. Wealth and power don’t guarantee happiness. We’ve seen that over and over throughout history – from Greek tragedy to Shakespearean rulers, through the many curses and deaths of the Kennedy family (the closest America has to a royal family). The new fourth season of “The Crown” – the stunning, sumptuous dramatic series on Netflix – leans heavily into foreboding, dread,... Read More

In place of a massive, festive in-person concert at Centennial Hall, Augustana College is presenting a new virtual performance of “Christmas at Augustana” throughout the month of December. To kick off the Christmas season, the Rock Island-based college has adapted its typically sold-out performances to an at-home experience for all. Three hundred student musicians will be participating in performances by the Augustana Brass Ensemble, Ascension Ringers, Augustana Symphony Orchestra, Augustana Choir, Augustana Concert Chorale and Jenny Lind Vocal Ensemble and the Augustana Jazz Ensemble. Throughout... Read More

Many of us feel powerless during the relentless, unending onslaught of Covid-19, but Brent Tubbs is not taking it laying down. The co-owner of Moline’s Spotlight Theatre (with his wife Sara), Tubbs recently filmed and edited a special music video highlighting several Quad-Cities theaters – including his – that have been shuttered again due to the pandemic. Available at thespotlighttheatreqc.com, the three-minute video – set to the inspiring “From Now On” from “The Greatest Showman” — features many masked performers dancing outside local theaters. It is meant to be shared with... Read More