After more than 16 months of sonic darkness, the TaxSlayer Center in Moline is more than ready to rock Friday, July 9 at 7 p.m. Its first concert since the Zac Brown Band on Feb. 28, 2020 will be the powerhouse lineup of legendary arena rock bands — featuring Dokken, Lynch Reunion (with special guest star guitarist George Lynch), Firehouse, Jack Russell’s Great White, and special guest Brandon Gibbs (a native of Burlington, Iowa). While Illinois indoor venues have been able to open to 100-percent audience capacity since mid-June, TaxSlayer Center executive director Scott Mullen said about... Read More

The day that Illinois Quad-Cities theaters and concert venues have long waited for arrives today, on Friday, June 11 – when they can remove Covid-related restrictions on audience capacity. Today, the state of Illinois is moving into Phase 5 of the pandemic, which lifts all limits on indoor and outdoor festivals, concerts and other live performances, which will affect many Q-C venues. “We are thrilled to be able to go back to full capacity in both venues. Nothing but a positive for us,” said Brett Hitchcock, director of audience development for Circa ’21 and The Speakeasy, Rock Island. In... Read More

Teams were on the court of TaxSlayer Center warming up for the opening game of the 2020 Missouri Valley Conference Women’s Championship basketball tournament last March 12. Within hours, our world changed. The following hours and days were globally historic. The balls stopped bouncing in the TaxSlayer Center because of a virus the world was only beginning to comprehend. Change and disruption continued in blurred days to follow. Scott Mullen, executive director of the TaxSlayer Center, said the arena was ready to host the Missouri Valley Women’s Championship a year ago when the virus rapidly... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: Nearly a year after the 2020 Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Women’s Basketball Tournament had to be canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, hope springs eternal. On Thursday, Visit Quad Cities and the MVC announced that the 2021 Missouri Valley Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament will return to the TaxSlayer Center in Moline, for the sixth straight year. Affectionately named “Hoops in the Heartland,” the four-day event (Mar. 11-14) will showcase all 10 MVC schools as they compete for The Valley’s automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. “We are thrilled that 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

The long awaited “Save Our Stages” bill is part of the $900 billion that’s expected to be approved by Congress, providing economic relief to those affected by Covid-19. Congress has agreed to a new bipartisan relief package that allocates $15 billion in funding to independent movie theaters and concert venues. According to USA Today’s Nicholas Wu, the relief package incorporates the Save Our Stages Act. First introduced by Senators John Cornyn of Texas and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota over the summer, the act calls for six months of financial support to “keep venues afloat, pay employees,... 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