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

Heartland Connections – based in Cambridge, Ill. — has launched a campaign to collect videos of holiday songs, stories, and messages, of which a special program will be created and sent to nursing homes, hospitals, and those most affected by the challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic. The deadline for submissions is Dec. 22, and programs will be delivered via email on Dec. 23. All are welcome and encouraged to submit and sign up to receive the program at no cost. To submit videos or sign up to receive a copy of the program, visit www.cheerrr.com.  Read More

The “Life is Beautiful” fundraising event is back this weekend for its third year, with a “Quaran-Tune” twist. A three-night live stream from Bishop Hill Creative Commons, a visual and performing arts cooperative in Bishop Hill, is being made possible by Heartland Connections. Concert organizer Joe Lee of Moline moved the event from in-person to live stream to meet evolving pandemic trends.   “Because of Covid, especially with the rise in cases, we thought this would be a good idea to do a live stream, to draw people together,” he said recently.   In its first two years,... Read More

The Life is Beautiful event is back for its third year with a decidedly “Quaran-Tune” twist. A three-night live stream event from Bishop Hill Creative Commons, a visual and performing arts cooperative is made possible by Heartland Connections this Friday Aug 14 through Sunday Aug 16. Concert organizer Joe Lee offers a blend of alternative, rock and blue grass — all to help raise funds for mental health education and support programs. Attend for free, appreciate and donate at www.namigmv.org/donate/   LIVE STREAM LOCATIONS Heartland Connections Facebook – www.facebook.com/HeartlandConnections NAMI... Read More

Like most entertainment around the world during coronavirus, the Levitt AMP Galva Music Series moved online this summer. All recipients of a 2020 national grant for a free summer music series will be part of a virtual free broadcast, all available on levittamp.org/virtual. Galva’s entry kicked off the series on June 20, with performances by Chicago Farmer and Edward David Anderson. “Each recipient of the Levitt AMP grant will be featured in one concert over the course of the summer as part of the national series — we just happened to be the first,” said John Taylor of Cambridge, president... Read More