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

Today, on the 90th anniversary of the passing of jazz legend and Davenport native Bix Beiderbecke (1903-1931), Josh Duffee of Davenport changed his Facebook profile picture to a black-and-white photo of a 24-year-old Bix, from 1927. A passionate jazz drummer, teacher and bandleader, Duffee and his Graystone Monarchs (10-piece all-star band) will be performing a “Tribute to Bix Beiderbecke” tonight at the Bix Jazz Festival at the Rhythm City Casino Events Center, 7077 Elmore Ave., Davenport, where the festival is currently taking place. This is the 50th anniversary for the jazz festival,... Read More

Join the Josh Duffee Orchestra TONIGHT at Lincoln Park in Rock Island for a 20th Anniversary Performance at 7:00pm! The bandshell is located at the intersection of 11th Avenue and 42nd Street. “We were unfortunately rained out in June, but tomorrow is looking much better than last month,” Duffee said. “Make sure you bring a lawn chair, and Hy-Vee will have food and beverages for sale at 5:00pm. “We’ll be performing the music of Gene Krupa and His Orchestra from our very first show 20 years ago, so come on out and hear some incredible music! “Please... Read More

Josh Duffee Orchestra has rescheduled a special 20th-anniversary concert salute to Gene Krupa (since it was rained out June 29), to the same location — Lincoln Park in Rock Island, at 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 27th. On June 30, 2001, the Josh Duffee Orchestra performed a Krupa tribute at the then-Moline Community Center on 5th Avenue, less than two blocks away from where Bellson’s family operated a music store at 1711 5th Ave. Then a 21-year-old Moline High graduate, Duffee intimately knew his way around a drum kit and worshipped both Gene Krupa (1909-1973) and Louie Bellson (1924-2009) –... Read More

Tuesday, July 6th would have been legendary jazz drummer Louie Bellson’s 97th birthday. Davenport drummer Josh Duffee will perform a snare drum solo on his Bellson Model Remo Snare Drum to celebrate his birthday, next to Bellson’s grave at Riverside Cemetery in Moline. Duffee will broadcast a Facebook Live video feed from his Facebook page, and will be at Bellson’s grave the exact time he was born  (Luigi Paulino Alfredo Francesco Antonio Balassoni) — 3:15 p.m. — in Rock Falls, Ill., July 6, 1924. “This event will allow fans of his from around the world the chance to help celebrate... Read More

Saturday in the Arts is a weekly feature covering a trend, subject, event or personality of local interest. It runs every Saturday morning on your site for the best entertainment and arts coverage in the area, QuadCities.com! Over 20 years ago, Josh Duffee had an inspired idea – form a big band and play the music made famous by the jazz drummer who launched the career of a world-famous Moline drummer. Then a 21-year-old Moline High graduate, Duffee intimately knew his way around a drum kit and worshipped both Gene Krupa (1909-1973) and Louie Bellson (1924-2009) – the latter a Moline alum who... Read More

The Chicago Cellar Boys will be performing at The Knoxville Tap in Milan, IL, on Sunday, August 8th 2021 from 5:00pm to 8:00pm. This performance will be the final Bix Jazz Festival related event for the weekend, and it’s always an amazing time! Event organizer Josh Duffee will be taking reservations for advanced seating from now until the day of the event, and can be reached on cell phone or through e-mail – jgoldkette@msn.com – for reservations. The cost will be $20 for Advanced Reserved Seating + Meal, or $15 At The Door + Meal. Reserved seating is first-come, first serve,... Read More

For the first time in 11 years, the Dixieland jazz of the 1920s will be part of Bix 7 race weekend, with a new music festival – The Heights of the Era, all day Saturday, July 24, in Davenport. “We really miss Bix Beiderbecke music being part of Bix weekend,” event organizer Michelle Solis Russell, partner in Russell Group (the Davenport-based construction and development firm), said Wednesday. A longtime runner in the annual seven-mile road race (canceled in 2020 due to Covid), she said the event heyday was back in the ‘80s and “the Bix was very much a music fest with those two things... Read More

Local musician Josh Duffee has long been an advocate for keeping the legacy of legendary jazz musician — and former Quad-Cities resident — Bix Beiderbecke alive and well. Now Duffee is advocating to keep Bix’s childhood home alive as well. Duffee has been monitoring the situation as Bix’s former abode has fallen into a state of disrepair year after year, and now he’s taking action to preserve it. Duffee posted on his Facebook page today, “I made a call to the City of Davenport yesterday on Bix’s birthday after I was home from visiting the house and grave... Read More

Congratulations to local musician Josh Duffee, who very deservedly won the Bix Lives Award this weekend! Josh has long been a huge supporter of the Bix fest and Beiderbecke’s legacy, as well as an accomplished jazz musician in his own right. Josh posted news of the win on his facebook, where he said: I am very honored to have received the Bix Lives Award this past Saturday, January 16th, at the RME. A congratulations is also in order for Carol Schaefer, the other recipient of the award. I can’t believe it has been 20 years since I started my musical journey with my orchestra... Read More