Welcome back to our look back at the strange and apocalyptic journey that was the arts and entertainment scene of 2020. It was a year unlike any other, that’s for sure, and we at QuadCities.com are recapping it this year in a series of stories through Dec. 31, and then we’re going to have the entire series of stories sent to a licensed shaman, a priest, an exorcist, and Oprah, in the hope that they’ll bless the coming 2021 and put this year behind us. If you want to check out our recap of January and February (the “normal” months), click here; if you want to read about... Read More

So here we are, the LAST Video You Deserve of one of the worst years ever, 2020. And we have a very special message and video for the year which can’t be over fast enough, that is, anticipating that 2021 will be better. (It HAS to be better, right? Right. C’mon now, fate, cut us some slack…) Anyway, as we do every week, we know Mondays can be rough, so, every Monday, we give you a music video. A fun, funny music video. Something that’ll make you smile, make you laugh, make you reminisce, and make you realize that back in the day, music video creators were probably either insane... Read More

It’s time for our look back at the year that was in arts and entertainment, 2020. Every day between now and New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31, we’ll be posting a story painting the big picture on the year, a couple months each day. We hope you enjoy the look back, and let’s all hope for a happy new year and a much, much, much, much better 2021! Here’s today’s installment, where we look at the longest month of the year, and probably the decade, that being MARCH OF 2020. I think if there’s a time during the year that encapsulates 2020, it’s this time. March was complete and... Read More

It’s Sunday, and QuadCities.com proudly presents FUN10, a list of the top 10 things to do in the Quad Cities this week, and every week! Every Sunday, we drop a new FUN10, to give you a head start on your week and a heads up on what’s going on over the coming seven days. Check out FUN10 every Sunday for the details on ten awesome events happening around town. It’s a cool read, and a great way to get started planning your entertainment for the week. FUN10 — ten ways for you to have fun in the Quad-Cities, this week and every week, running every Sunday, only on your site for fun, free, local... Read More

It’s time for our look back at the year that was in arts and entertainment, 2020. Every day between now and New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31, we’ll be posting a story painting the big picture on the year. Some days will have multiple stories, some days there was so much going on in one month we just stuck to that one. We hope you enjoy the look back, and let’s all hope for a happy new year and a much, much, much, much better 2021! Here’s today’s installment, months January and February, the two most normal months of the year. During this time, coronavirus was just a news story for the... Read More

It’s been one hell of a year. People always say this year is one we’ll never forget. In the case of 2020, that’s not hyperbole. Everyone will remember this year, and most people won’t remember it fondly. In truth, it seems like it’s been multiple years in one. It began with a couple of months of normalcy, as the specter of coronavirus loomed but the government downplayed it and so people didn’t take it seriously. Then came March. The first two weeks seemed a bit ominous, but nothing really prepared us for the shutdown mid-March, which was accompanied by people snapping up toilet paper... Read More

There was a time, around 2006, when EVERYONE was on MySpace. The social media platform was ubiquitous, especially if you were under 30. Everyone you knew was on it, everyone was having fun on it. And to be honest, it was a really fun time in society and online life and MySpace was the pinnacle of that. MySpace wasn’t political, it wasn’t full of conspiracy theories and hate speech and ridiculous falsehoods, and vicious arguments and people being blocked. It was largely about people posting fun pictures of themselves and sharing music that they enjoyed, and then people generally commenting... Read More

Saturday In The Arts is a comprehensive weekly feature looking at a trend, personality, or major subject involving the Quad-Cities arts and entertainment scene. Making it through nearly five months of a paralyzing pandemic was bad enough, but for those of us in Iowa and the Quad-Cities, Aug. 10, 2020 and the days that followed seemed especially cruel. I’ll never forget that Monday afternoon, working on my laptop in the basement, a prisoner in my home trying not to go insane during a crazy year. The power suddenly went out, as a freak inland hurricane (or “derecho” – duh-RAY-cho – as everyone... Read More

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

The following is a guest column from Craig Cooper, Senior Communications Specialist for Genesis Health System. QuadCities.com welcomes fact-based guest columns from healthcare professionals regarding health topics of interest. Message Sean@QuadCities.com for more information. Fear, shock, rising death numbers, mask requirements and reluctance to wear them, and recommendations of only limited public gatherings. This isn’t only a description of the relentless global COVID-19 crisis. We have been here more than once before as a country. Consider Christmas 1918 and the Spanish Flu pandemic. The pandemic... Read More