The following article is part of QuadCities.com’s partnership with local music website The Echo. For more, check out theechoqc.com! Echo: How did you get started promoting shows?  Terry: It’s not just promoting shows. It was learning the business side. I worked on the south side of Chicago when I was 15 stocking shelves in liquor stores. I drove a beer truck when I decided I was going to college to get out of Gary, Indiana. I came here and put myself through college bartending for four years. I picked the brains of a lot of guys in this business to learn it. I owned my first bar and restaurant... Read More

Imagine it’s Super Bowl Sunday, pre-covid. You’re in your home, minding your own business, watching TV, having a couple beverages with a number of friends, having a good time. Across the street, you see lights on in your neighbors’ houses. You see cars out front. They have guests too, and all of you are enjoying a weekend night. Suddenly, the evening is split by the flashing lights and squeal of two police cars, and an ambulance in tow, roaring down your street and pulling up to your neighbor’s house. Everyone is looking out the windows to see what’s going on. You all see your neighbor... 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

It’s almost the end of the year, and it’s time for everyone to flashback on the past 300-plus days, and we at QuadCities.com are right there with you. We’re taking a glance in the rearview at the past 365 to run down the top 30 stories of the year for our site! Of course, since we cover entertainment, sports, and features, that’s all we’ve got going on here. For stories on the flood, politics, crime and such, please feel free to check out our news media partners at KWQC-TV6. For the criteria on how we picked the stories, check out my column on the countdown. As always, it’s interesting... Read More

In January 2013, Tripmaster Monkey — drummer Marty Reyhons, bassist Wes Haas, guitarist Jamie Toal and singer Chris Bernat — performed at the Rock Island Brewing Company as part of the Bertual Reality Benefit, a gig to raise funds for local producer Rob Cimmarusti, who was battling pancreatic cancer and whose production and performance expertise were crucial to the creative evolution of a plethora of area acts, including the eclectic Tripmaster foursome. Cimmarusti passed away the following year, but still lives on in the memories of local musicians and people who were touched by his... Read More

For one night only, DJ Shane Brown was back at the club he helped to make famous, 2nd Ave in downtown Rock Island, spinning new dance tracks and a few classics mixed in. Shane is normally at the McClellan Stockade in the Village of East Davenport, but he couldn’t resist the invitation to come back to the Ave to spin, and the packed dance floor was likewise happy to see the veteran DJ back on the tables!    Read More

Anyone read that article sweeping the web about Terry Tilka? He’s celebrating his 30th year of busting his ass as the owner of the coolest bar in the Quad-Cities, one that’s outlived almost every other and fought its way through countless trends, several recessions and umpteen financial curves in the Quad-Cities. Terry started off young, when he was in college, owning bars around the area, and busted his ass most frequently as the owner of O’Meara’s (named after his Mom’s maiden name), before putting his money and his life on the table to buy a little spot called RIBCO when there was... Read More