Going to the cineplex or staying in and streaming this weekend? Every Thursday morning at 8:15 a.m. you can listen to Mike Schulz dish on recent movie releases & talk smack about Hollywood celebs on Planet 93.9 FM with the fabulous Dave & Darren in the Morning team of Dave Levora and Darren Pitra. The morning crew previews upcoming releases, too.

Or you can check the Reader Web site and listen to their latest conversation by the warm glow of your electronic device. Never miss a pithy comment from these three scintillating pundits again.

Thursday, May 16: Discussion of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, previews of IF, Back to Black, The Strangers: Chapter 1, and Poolman, and, for a change of pace, lots of talk about TV shows, including Baby Reindeer, Under the Bridge, and Fallout. These guys are true Renaissance men.

Chicago, May 28

With the band's formidable list of credits and accomplishments including 10 Grammy Award nominations and a win, two American Music Awards, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and status as one of the best-selling music acts of all-time, the pop-rock musicians of Chicago bring the group's legendary sound to Davenport's Adler Theatre on May 28, its 57-year repertoire including such chart-topping smashes as “If You Leave Me Now,” “Look Away,” and “Hard to Say I'm Sorry.”

With the acclaimed ensemble's top-10 Billboard smashes including "Through It All," "Crazy," "Hate Me Too," "Nightmare" and "Barely Breathing," the alternative-metal artists of From Ashes to New headline a May 25 concert event at Davenport's Capitol Theatre, their 2023 recording Blackout hailed by Wall of Sounds as a "fantastic" album that "tells a story, tackles some heavy but incredibly relatable subject matter, shows versatility, and is very fun."

Praised by Atwood magazine for his group's "jazzy, sultry indie rock upheaval from and for the soul," Memphis-based artist Josh Shaw brings his outfit Blvck Hippie to Davenport's Raccoon Motel on May 27 (Memorial Day) in support of the June 14 release Basketball Camp, Atwood adding that the dynamic musicians are "an emerging force reminiscent of The Strokes and The Black Keys, but with their own spirited and dynamic energy."

Touring in support of the June 14 release of their latest album Broken Hearted Blue, the lauded Americana and outlaw-country ensemble Jenny Don't & the Spurs headlines a May 29 concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, their 2021 recording Fire on the Ridge praised by Glide magazine for the way the musicians "spin classic country, honky tonk, rockabilly, surf rock, and cowpunk into one rollicking mix of a good time."

With his popular band Jared & the Mill lauded by College Times for its "its willowy jangle rock and hook-laden lyrics," the group's frontman Jared Kolesar will perform as a solo artist when his outfit Wheelwright headlines a concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, the artist's May 28 engagement treating fans to the talents of a singer/writer whose band, according to PopMatters, delivers "a scorching rock performance that consistently shifts in how it musically tells its story."

A beloved venue regular at Rock Island's Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse will take on the repertoire of one of history's most admired singer/songwriters in the May 30 concert event Solitary Man: A Tribute to Neil Diamond, with Hauskins and a team of gifted musicians treating audiences to adored smash hits including “America,” “Forever in Blue Jeans,” and “Sweet Caroline.”

Currently touring in support of his March album Little Sun, a work that Americana Highways deemed " a masterful record with stunning production and musicianship of the highest quality," Charlie Parr headlines a May 26 record-release show at Maquoketa's Codfish Hollow Barn, the country and blues-rock singer/songwriter's most recent offering also leading PopMatters to rave that Parr "never betrays his own vision, one that continues to find new routes to explore even 18 albums in."

Combining Influences of rock 'n' roll, country, blues, soul, surf rock, and rockabilly, the Midwestern tribute artists of Jonny Lyons & the Pride will play a special May 25 concert event at Mt. Carroll's Timber Lake Playhouse, their exhilarating stage show designed to take audiences on a journey back in time to the golden era of '50s, '60s, and '70s music and showmanship.

Noted for being the Midwest's only act expressly dedicated to recreating the music of Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons, the, Chicago-based tribute artists of The Four C Notes play a May 18 concert event at Mt. Carroll's Timber Lake Playhouse. performing from a vast pop, rock, and ballad repertoire boasting such iconic smashes as “Sherry," “Big Girls Don’t Cry," “Walk Like A Man," “Workin’ My Way Back To You, (Babe)," "Let's Hang On," and “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You."

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