It was late 1984, and Boomtown Rats front man Bob Geldof was sitting down to watch a bit of telly as the calendar began to turn towards the holidays. However, what he saw that evening was anything but festive. Geldof watched as a documentary news program detailed the horrible starving and suffering going on in Africa due to incredible droughts and oppression. And as he watched, he was moved to tears, sorrow, and finally, action. He knew he had to do something to help, but just donating money himself seemed so small, so insignificant. How could he do something larger? Finally, he had the idea, and... Read More

John Taylor of Cambridge, Ill. – a local cultural guru behind Heartland Connections, the Levitt AMP Galva Music Series and the Ca d’Zan concert series – has been a busy Christmas elf the past couple weeks. He has helped produce several holiday videos featuring area musicians. A “Spreading Holiday Cheer” video from Heartland Connections is more than an hour long, and features performances of many musicians in Illinois and Iowa. You can see it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3-pohv2udk and https://www.facebook.com/HeartlandConnections/posts/3607327219492911. “Originally, I started... Read More

Melita Tunnicliff opened an e-mail sent by an old friend Wednesday at work, not exactly sure what its attached video contained. When she watched a heartfelt, personalized video from the legendary actor Dick Van Dyke, wishing her family a merry Christmas and happy 2021, she could hardly believe it. Tunnicliff screamed with joy at her desk at LeClaire Community Library. “It was a real surprise,” she said Thursday morning, Christmas Eve. “It was Dick Van Dyke in the present day because of his age. He looked up and said Scott and Melita, and I said, oh my God!” “I made everybody come over... Read More

Don’t even think about it. Yeah, you, the fruitcake. Don’t EVEN think about it. Khalil’s Covid Christmas Special premieres December 20, and will be a Christmas Special for the ages — but no fruitcake will be spared in its wake! You saw what this guy can do with donuts, you really don’t want to miss this! Join your hosts, Khalil Hacker and Tristan Tapscott as they wrap up this dumpster fire year the only way they know how… with a Christmas special! Filled with surprise guest stars, a fruit cake eating contest and many laughs! Shot safely in the beautiful Renwick Mansion... Read More

The new Raccoon Motel bar and live-music venue plans to open St. Patrick’s Day 2021 at the old Abernathy’s in downtown Davenport, with live music starting in early summer, one of its partners said Wednesday. John McDermott, a Quad-Cities commercial lender who’s friends with original Raccoon Motel music booker Sean Moeller, is partnering with Moeller and Eric Swanson to resurrect the Raccoon – which operated from March 2017-August 2019 at 304 E. 3rd St. (now Devon’s Complaint Dept.), averaging about 150 live shows a year. The new Raccoon already has been selling some new hoodies, stocking... Read More

The Raccoon Motel, a haven for intriguing live music and performance in the Quad-Cities up through its closing in 2019, is re-opening in a new spot in downtown Davenport. The Motel’s founder and event promoter, Sean Moeller, released the following message today regarding the venue: Santa Claus has a ringed tail this year! He’s swooped into the Quad Cities to announce a new Raccoon Motel coming to Davenport sometime in the spring of 2021 and to drop some fresh new Motel merch just in time for the holidays! These hoodies, stocking hats and tees can serve as a cozy hand to hold until the music... Read More

Eleven cultural organizations and three artists in the Quad-Cities were among those to receive a share of $7 million in new grants announced Tuesday by the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs. A total of 267 cultural organizations and 152 artists serving 118 Iowa communities will get funding, made possible by the Coronavirus, Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, on Dec. 2. The department launched the Iowa Arts & Culture Recovery Program the same day and received more than 550 requests totaling more than $36 million by the Dec. 11 deadline. The list of recipients includes some of Iowa’s... Read More

The Silvis Library has been a cornerstone of our community for over 100 years. Throughout that time, the library (and community) have undergone a lot of changes. As the city has grown, so has our library. As early as November of 1911, the Silvis Woman’s Club began collecting books and looking for a location for a library. When the new City Hall was completed in 1922, an area on the lower level was designated as the permanent home of the library. The first version of the Summer Reading Program was started in the spring of 1931. The library purchased 300 “Books I Have Read” booklets... Read More

Hannah Holman, principal cellist with the Quad City Symphony, got an early Christmas present this month – the keys to the historic Deanery at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, Davenport. She’s had a longtime dream to start a new music school, which she did online in September, and she is Executive Artistic Director of the Quad City Music Academy. Following months of negotiations between the Trinity Episcopal Cathedral’s Vestry and her academy’s Board of Directors, Holman now has a 15-year lease on the 90-year-old building and the QCMA will rename it The Deanery School of Music. “It’s so... Read More

The long awaited “Save Our Stages” bill is part of the $900 billion that’s expected to be approved by Congress, providing economic relief to those affected by Covid-19. Congress has agreed to a new bipartisan relief package that allocates $15 billion in funding to independent movie theaters and concert venues. According to USA Today’s Nicholas Wu, the relief package incorporates the Save Our Stages Act. First introduced by Senators John Cornyn of Texas and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota over the summer, the act calls for six months of financial support to “keep venues afloat, pay employees,... Read More