As previously reported on QuadCities.com, thousands of businesses statewide including a large number of Quad-Cities businesses, benefited from over $275 million in grants given by the state of Illinois to small businesses negatively impacted by covid-19. According to the business grant website, the Business Interruption Grant (BIG) program was developed by Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois General Assembly to provide $580 million in economic relief for small businesses hit hardest by COVID-19. BIG – the largest program of its kind in the nation – leverages federal funding provided by the... Read More

Hundreds of Quad-Cities arts, entertainment and leisure businesses and similar businesses statewide — including Rust Belt, Ballet Quad-Cities, RIBCO, Playcrafters, Black Box Theater and more — were given a helping hand today as Governor J.B. Pritzker announced more than $275 million for hard hit businesses across Illinois. Over 9,000 emergency assistance grants have been made to small businesses in over 600 cities and towns statewide through the Business Interruption Grants (BIG) program, according to the  Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), making it the... Read More

Though long-awaited funding for live-music venues is part of the federal Covid stimulus bill recently signed into law, several Quad-Cities entertainment spaces are taking a “wait and see” attitude regarding the reality. Scott Mullen, executive director of Moline’s TaxSlayer Center, said the $15-billion “Save Our Stages” act that was approved had included language noting some venue owners and arenas like his “don’t qualify due to a requirement they put in that says that 70% of the venue’s events must be artist performances, so buildings with sports tenants are excluded due to the... Read More

It’s time for our look back at the year that was in arts and entertainment, 2020. Every day between now and New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31, we’ll be posting a story painting the big picture on the year. Some days will have multiple stories, some days there was so much going on in one month we just stuck to that one. We hope you enjoy the look back, and let’s all hope for a happy new year and a much, much, much, much better 2021! Here’s today’s installment, months January and February, the two most normal months of the year. During this time, coronavirus was just a news story for the... Read More

This weekend, YouTube and the National Independent Venue Association are doing an awesome thing for local music venues nationwide, and I’m sure many of you have heard about the star-studded Save Our Stages Fest. It’s the kind of huge, publicity-grabbing event that gets a ton of attention with people in markets across the country. Which is a good thing, because it’s for a good cause, and it needs to get in front of a large group of people to make that positive impact. I do not begrudge that at all, and I wholeheartedly encourage people to check it out, and any other event of that... Read More

Like most musicians, Joe Nichols is just glad to be back playing live in front of a paying audience. The 43-year-old Arkansas native will bring his traditional country sound to Murphy Park at The Bend, East Moline, Saturday at 8 p.m. It’s an acoustic show with a few other accompanying performers, and two opening acts. This is the first concert at the park (next to The Hyatt, Bend Event Center, and near The Rust Belt) since Sept. 11, 2019, when Murphy Park concluded its 2019 summer concert series. “Any time we can play live, we look forward to it,” Nichols, who lives in Tyler, Tex., said in... Read More

Multi-platinum country artist Joe Nichols will be performing Oct. 10 at Murphy Park, 900 Bent Boulevard, East Moline! Doors open at 7 p.m., the show is at 8 p.m. Tickets are $31.50 – $58.33. You can buy tickets here. Multi-platinum recording artist Joe Nichols is one of Country music’s most praised traditional Country artists. Nichols’ album CRICKETS debuted in the Top 3 on the Billboard Country Albums Chart and spawned the two multi-week #1 singles: RIAA gold-certified hits “Yeah” and “Sunny and 75.” Nichols has six #1 hits plus eight Top 10 singles to his credit, including chart-toppers... Read More

Nathan Baesel is coming to Midwest Monster Fest 2021 on Sept. 3-5! Baesel graduated from the Juilliard School of Drama. He has appeared in various national television spots and guest starred in The District and CBS’s Cold Case. He had a recurring role on ABC’s science fiction drama Shaun Cassidy’s Invasion, playing the one-armed deputy Lewis Sirk. As well as various roles in shows such as, C.S.I, C.S.I.:Miami, Without a Trace, Journeyman and more. Nathan is a founding member of NY-based Theater Mitu and he performs regularly for South Coast Repertory. One of his best known... Read More

Saturday in the Arts is a comprehensive, in-depth feature on a topic, trend or personality impacting the Quad-Cities, posted every Saturday morning on QuadCities.com. This week we look at the various downtown businesses of the Illinois and Iowa Quad-Cities and how they’ve been impacted by, and have adapted to, the covid-19 pandemic.   The popular Rock Island Brewing Company (RIBCO), in the middle of The District at 1815 2nd Ave., has been through a lot since it opened in 1979. Hailed as a leader in Q-C live entertainment (its starry roster of guest acts includes Bo Diddley, The Wallflowers,... Read More

The Midwest Monster Fest, originally slated Sept. 5-7 at The Rust Belt in East Moline, has been postponed until those same dates in 2021, fest officials announced today. QuadCities.com is, and will remain, a proud sponsor of Midwest Monster Fest. The following post went out on the festival’s social media today: At MIDWEST MONSTER FEST the safety, health and well-being of all our fans, vendors, stars, and staff are top priority. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on the local and Illinois state restrictions on indoor gatherings we have decided to cancel our Sept 2020 show and focus on... Read More