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! Brianna Hobbs was in middle school when the then-new River Music Experience first opened its doors June 12, 2004, in the historic Redstone building at 2nd and Main streets, Davenport. Now, the 28-year-old East Moline native is thrilled to join the growing nonprofit’s staff as new programs director, as the veteran RME leaders Bret Dale and his wife Kate transition out as... Read More

For a blissful few hours on a sun-kissed Tuesday in downtown Davenport, there was finally no coronavirus, no social distancing, no masks, no worries. There was a heavenly sense of normalcy outside River Music Experience at 2nd and Main streets, as the Quad Cities Cultural Trust (QCCT) presented a free four-hour festival – “Paint the Town” – as it celebrated exceeding its ambitious fundraising goal with its six funded partners. Representatives from those invaluable nonprofit groups – RME, Quad City Botanical Center, Quad City Symphony Orchestra, the Figge Art Museum, Putnam Museum &... Read More

River Music Experience, along with other local businesses and nonprofits that make their home in the historic Redstone building, 129 N. Main Street, Davenport, IA, will be celebrating the start of the summer with their first outdoor concert of the year, along with a building wide Open House event, and welcoming of our newest tenants, Underground Economy and Zeke’s Island Café. RME will kick off their popular Friday Live@Five free courtyard concert series, which will return on the full June – September weekly schedule this year (excluding July 4th weekend).  These concerts are 5:00 – 7:00... Read More

The Echo – at TheEchoQC.com – is a new online music publication that is partnering with Visit Quad Cities, the official destination management and marketing organization for the Q-C, to expand its digital platform experience and to continue to serve as an important community resource. By implementing a shared online calendar, the two organizations are making it easier for Quad Citizens and visitors to find live music experiences in the region. “Partnering with The Echo is another way to add depth and create value for the Quad-Cities regional destination,” said Dave Herrell, President and... 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! After 15 months of coping with the crazy Covid pandemic, we all need a day to get out, have fun and paint the town. That’s exactly what the Quad Cities Cultural Trust has planned for Tuesday, June 8, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. That’s when the free, family-friendly “Paint the Town” event will be at River Music Experience, 129 Main St., Davenport. Including food, drinks,... Read More

Seven bands from the QC Rock Academy will perform at a free summer kickoff concert at Rock Island’s Schwiebert Riverfront Park on Saturday, May 22, from 5 p.m. to 10 p,m, The bands (totaling more than 35 teenage students) are Been There Done That, Strictly Business, Crushed Monkey, Made Ya Look, Daze Off, Tell Tale Heart and Nonetheless, plus an “All-Star Jam” to end the night, comprised of a half-dozen members of different bands playing together. There will be a few opening acts starting at 5 p.m. — Mike Diehl with Hallie Shemek, Grace Bryant and Makayla & Aleigha Navin. This event... Read More

The Bix Beiderbecke Museum and World Archives in downtown Davenport is raising funds to renovate their permanent exhibit with three of the most important artifacts acquired to date. The $12,000 project will make it possible to permanently display Don Murray’s tenor saxophone and Bix’s tuxedo jacket and traveling trunk during the Paul Whiteman years in the museum. The saxophone was donated to the museum last year by Don Murray’s great-nephew, Justice Tom Harris Jr., and the tuxedo and trunk will be on permanent loan from Bix’s great-nephew, Chris Beiderbecke. Funding for this project will... Read More

When live, in-person music was wiped out last year, Davenport-based River Music Experience provided a priceless lifeline – they brought music out to private residences in the Quad-Cities with Curbside Concerts. Now they’re back for a second year. With all the outdoor shows (in private yards, curbs, driveways and cul-de-sacs), events sponsored by Russell Construction for essential workers, and curbside caroling, RME hosted 350 concerts and reached 7,260 people from April to December 2020, RME director of entertainment Kate Dale said Monday. They contracted with about a dozen local artists, plus... Read More

Being a full-time professional musician is hard enough. The Covid pandemic has made that a million times harder, as Davenport’s Lojo Russo learned over the past year. An ovarian cancer survivor, the popular singer-songwriter (unlike many Q-C bands and musicians) decided not to perform public gigs indoors. For St. Patrick’s Day this year, Russo did a private event at a company’s break room, while wearing a mask, and it was awkward. On Tuesday night, April 6, Russo will return for the first time playing in public since October, at a special event. The “You First Music Celebration” – starting... Read More

The month-old Jambrella movement is quickly gaining steam, as Jambrella Productions is having a big jam event Friday night to raise money for local musicians. There are also plans to have a second major festival outdoors on Saturday, June 12 to coincide with the 17th anniversary of River Music Experience. The first massive Jambrella music festival – aimed to give back to local musicians and bars – was a major success Feb. 26 at The Mound in the Village of East Davenport, raising $7,006. Artists who performed that night included Molly Durnin, Far Out 283, Angela Meyer, Fair Warning, 3 On... Read More