BREAKING NEWS: The inspiring unveiling of a new mural on an empty building in downtown Rock Island Thursday not only adds vibrant new color, beauty and life to a little-noticed alleyway, it represents the dreams and sorrows of a talented teenager, the dreams and sorrows of an entire race, and the hopes and dreams for a further revitalization of a city’s center. Dozens of local leaders, business people, artists and residents gathered along 20th Street downtown to celebrate the gorgeous mural inspired by a Rock Island High School student’s award-winning artwork, which also served as the official... Read More

We’re back with more Alternating Currents recommendations from The Echo! This time the picks are from local creative Aubrey Barnes (Aubs.) This year Alternating Currents is trickling into Downtown Rock Island and we’re incredibly excited to see one of those venues highlighted here! Here are his picks:  Read More

The unveiling of a new mural in Downtown Rock Island, inspired by a Rock Island High School student’s award-winning artwork, will serve as the official kickoff to this year’s Alternating Currents festival Aug. 19-22 in the Quad-Cities. What: Ceremony unveiling the mural by young artist Riley Jones, a Rocky junior. When: 3:45-4:45 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 19  Where: Alleyway at 313 20th St., Rock Island Hosted by: Quad Cities Chamber & Quad City Arts as part of Alternating Currents  Created by 16-year-old Riley Jones in collaboration with professional muralists Dana Harrison (Limone)... Read More

Ravon Johnson Taylor was awarded the McKenzie Foundation & Uncharted Learning 2021 GritGrant award. He was chosen as one of four recipients from across the country! He is also the first Rock Island High School Student to win the award. Ravon graduated in 2021 but came back to Rocky on August 9 to receive his award and meet with Jim McKenzie from the foundation over Zoom. Any high school student who is enrolled in an INCubatoredu / ACCELeratoredu and/or MobileMakersEdu / MobileMakersStudio programs can be nominated. Ravon was nominated by his INCubatoredu teacher, Trish Matson. GritGrants... Read More

EXCLUSIVE: Rock Island Mayoral candidate and community organizer Thurgood Brooks lost in a surprisingly close election to incumbent Mike Thoms earlier this year. Since then, Brooks has been working to put together a commission to increase communication between law enforcement and citizens, working on various community initiatives, and contemplating his political future after an impressive debut. In an exclusive and candid conversation, Brooks spoke with me for the first time since being narrowly defeated for the top political spot in the city in my latest episode of my podcast, QCUncut. We talk... Read More

BREAKING NEWS (UPDATED): At an invitation-only event Thursday night, the Figge Art Museum unveiled seven new acquisitions and a newly created Art Diversity and Equity Fund intended to combat the systemic inequality in the art world. The fund is supported by a lead gift from locals Jim and Michelle Russell of Russell Construction. According to a 2019 published research journal by the Public Library of Science, the diversity of artists in major U.S. museums illustrates the urgent need to focus on collecting and preserving the works of artists from marginalized communities. The study found that 85.4%... Read More

A 2005 Rock Island High alum, JUNO the Artist has toured the world as a guitarist and has played with everyone from Bruno Mars to Camila Cabello to Lizzo, plus Lady A at the June 9 CMT Awards in Nashville. But the exuberant, 34-year-old Chicago native had not returned to the Quad-Cities until Covid hit in March 2020, and she moved back to her aunt and uncle’s Rock Island house, where she recorded her debut album, “Help Is Not on the Way.” JUNO will perform at 4 p.m. Saturday as part of the Quad Cities Juneteenth Festival, at the Lincoln Center, 318 E. 7th St., Davenport. “Now coming back... Read More

Varieties Nightclub, 822 W. 2nd St., will be hosting a Juneteenth event titled Black Magic: Juneteenth Edition. The event begins Saturday, June 19 at 10:30 p.m. While there are other venues which host Drag nights and events, Varieties Nightclub is the only Drag Bar in the Quad Cities, which is a fitting place to celebrate both Queer and Black liberation this June. This will be their first event commemorating Juneteenth as a newly-adopted federal Holiday. Saturday’s show features Calvin K, Milange Cavalli, Kaylynn Snaps, Karina Passion and Nikki Turner. The club is regularly open Thursday-Saturday... Read More

The annual Juneteenth festival in the Quad-Cities will be held Saturday, June 19, at TMBC at The Lincoln Center, 318 E. 7th St., Davenport, the former Lincoln Elementary School. Open since Feb. 1, 2021, TMBC stands for “Together Making a Better Community,” and the free Juneteenth event will be 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, including food and retail vendors, history and information booths, fun-filled games and entertainment for the whole family. TMBC is the hub for resources, professional services, programs and events for the African-American community in the Quad-Cities. The Juneteenth festival... Read More

Juneteenth – short for “June Nineteenth” – marks the day in 1865 when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas were told by Union troops that they were free. Since then, the date has become a national celebration of emancipation. Join us Tuesday, June 15th at 6:30 pm for a virtual discussion led by Ryan Saddler, CEO of the Friends of MLK, Inc. as we talk about the history and celebration of Juneteenth. Registration is required to receive Zoom meeting details. Register here: https://davenportlibrary.libcal.com/event/7647800 Keep up with our virtual programming on our Virtual Branch Calendar of... Read More