Performing a special season-opening concert at the Codfish Hollow Basement (not to be confused with the Codfish Hollow Barn), singer/songwriter and Trampled by Turtles frontman Dave Simonett headlines a March 23 engagement in Maquoketa, the artist's solo album Red Tail hailed by Acoustic Guitar for “the quiet lyricism of the songwriting – the sound of Simonett working on his craft and finding new colors to describe this moment of plainspoken, Midwestern honesty.”

An evening of classic '80s rock is promised at Maquoketa's Ohnward Fine Arts Center on March 23 when the venue treats fans to a night with Bad Medicine, the exhilarating touring musicians who will deliver a first act of Bon Jovi hits and a second act of "Non Jovi" smashes, featuring favorites by the hard-rocking likes of Poison, Van Halen, and Guns N' Roses.

Celebrating songs from more than 40 years of music in collaborations with the likes of Hoagy Carmichael, Harold Arlen, Jerome Kern, and Henry Mancini, Moon River: The Songs of Johnny Mercer is set to enthrall audiences at the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts on March 23, delivering an evening of beloved standards straight from the golden age of Hollywood, among them "Satin Doll," "Jeepers Creepers," and "Days of Wine and Roses."

Standing as the world’s only year-round, professional ensemble that specializes in the authentic recreation of “America’s Original Music," the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra plays a March 16 concert at Galesburg's Orpheum Theatre in celebration of the venue's centennial year, recreating the sounds of early theatre, vintage dance, and “silent” cinema in their program The Clown Princes: Chaplin, Keaton, & Lloyd.

Touring in support of 2023's Life Is But a Dream ... – an album in which, as stated by Classic Rock, the musicians have “transcended their metal peers for good” and “created their definitive artistic statement" – Avenged Sevenfold headlines a March 18 concert event at Moline's Vibrant Arena at the MARK, the band's latest also inspiring Karrang! to rave that the hard rockers "haven't just made an album that's more out-there than any they've put their name to before – they've delivered a set of songs that are simply far more fun."

One of country music's most popular and enduring stars makes his long-awaited return to Davenport with the Capitol Theatre's March 21 hosting of Dwight Yoakam, the chart-topping, Grammy-winning legend and frequent film and television actor who has sold more than 30 million records and has landed more than 30 singles on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart.

Lauded by Taste of Country as an artist who "has captivated the nation with her unique yodeling vocals," country-music vocalist Ruby Leigh makes her debut at Davenport's Adler Theatre on March 16, her recent accomplishments including being the grand-prize winner of the Loretta Lynn So You Think You Can Sing Competition and being named first runner-up on the 24th season of TV's The Voice.

A platinum-selling, Grammy-nominated talent who stands as the first female country artist to score three multiple-week number-one songs from the same album, singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jo Dee Messina headlines a March 15 concert at Davenport's Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center, the performer's accolades also including an Academy of Country Music Award, a Billboard Magazine Award, three Boston Music Awards, and a Country Music Association Award.

Headlining the Rockin' Authentic St. Patrick’s Day Party at Moline's Rascals Live on March 16, a fittingly, genuinely Irish musician takes the stage with the area arrival of Ricky Warwick, the lead singer of the rock bands Black Star Riders and Thin Lizzy who also serves as frontman for the Scottish hard-rock band The Almighty.

With The Irish Times raving that it's "refreshing to hear a traditional band reference the present with such subtlety and finesse," the Celtic musicians of Grosse Isle will spend much of St. Patrick's Month as the latest gusts in Quad City Arts' Visiting Artists series, performing an octet of area concert events between March 18 and 23, and delivering what Songlines magazine succinctly described as "splendid stuff."

Pages