Einstein’s Sister release their first record in almost two decades TODAY at Record Store Day at Moline’s CoOp Records! All week long we’ve been publishing stories on the band, their music, and their history in our Einstein’s Sister Spotlight. The following is the first story Sean Leary wrote about the band becoming a band, transforming from the duo of Douglas and Tucker into Einstein’s Sister. It was originally published Nov. 20, 1997 on Sean Leary’s blog, What The &&^^&*((^&^& Is Sean Leary Thinking?   Einstein’s Sister’s... Read More

Einstein’s Sister are releasing their first new material in almost 20 years! The band collaborated with musicians from the bands of Paul McCartney, Sheryl Crow, Phil Collins and more, and the double-A side single was mixed at RAK Studios (where albums from Radiohead, Adele, Simple Minds and more have been recorded) and mastered at the legendary Abbey Road Studios. Written by Kerry Tucker (guitar and vocals) and Bill Douglas (vocals), and featuring Marty Reyhons on drums and Andy Brock on bass, the song is a power pop gem. You can pick it up this Saturday during Record Store Day at the Moline... Read More

Lewis Knudsen, a Rock Island-based singer/songwriter, had one of his original tunes debut last fall on the Hallmark Channel and he didn’t even know until a couple weeks ago. “The way it works with composition, there are so many libraries, so many songs. I have a good relationship with this library, but they don’t have the bandwidth to let every artist know,” he said Thursday of Gramoscope Music, which works with artists nationwide to place shows in TV and film. Knudsen had a two-year-old song, “I Need To Get Free,” as one of eight songs on the soundtrack for Hallmark’s “Love, Fall... Read More

Music certainly has the power to comfort and unify people, as exemplified in a new video by Rock Island native Lissie Maurus, who encouraged her fans to submit short videos from their recent life in quarantine. The five-minute compilation – set to her soulful 2018 song “Peace” – was released Aug. 11, and Lissie did a CNN International interview on the project from her family’s Rock Island home on Aug. 15. “Needless to say, these have been very disorienting, painful, reflective times,” the 37-year-old singer/songwriter posted on Facebook on Aug. 12. “I tear up with every view! And... Read More

Fourteen years before Aug. 6 was burned into the world’s memory (with the 1945 U.S. atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, killing more than 70,000 people), that date marked another impactful death. Davenport native and jazz legend Leon Bismark (“Bix”) Beiderbecke died Aug. 6, 1931 at age 28, from alcohol abuse and lobar pneumonia in his Queens, N.Y., apartment. His mother and brother Burnie were on their way to New York but arrived too late. Bix’s body was returned to Davenport with services on Aug. 11, 1931 at Hill & Frederick’s Funeral Home, and burial at Oakdale Cemetery,... Read More

Are you a local performer, theatrical actor, theater, or arts organization? We’re looking to provide you a virtual stage on the QuadCities.com site and social media! With covid rampaging, we know it’s a crazy time and we want to showcase your organization. No one can come to you but that doesn’t mean you can’t come to them. Along those lines, we’re producing a Virtual Cabaret called The Show Must Go On(line) and we want you to be part of it! The “live” event will air on our Facebook page on Friday, August 14 at 7 p.m. Submissions are due Friday, August 7 by 7 p.m. Use WeTransfer... 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.   When Davenport jazz pianist and singer Freddy Allen returned July 25 to perform at The Grape Life Wine Store & Lounge, it was the first time the former regular played there since Feb. 28. It was a bittersweet occasion for the 50-year-old full-time musician, who has seen his livelihood decimated due to the raging Covid-19 crisis. “It was emotional, it was hard,” Allen said recently. “I’ve been one of those people, during... Read More

Nada Surf’s show originally set for Wednesday, June 3 at Codfish Hollow Barnstormers, 5013 288th Ave., Maquoketa, Iowa, has been rescheduled for 8 p.m. April 26, 2021. Tickets are on sale on Eventbrite. For more information on any future dates see the Codfish event page.  Read More