What's Happenin'

  • Michael Angelos 1953-2024 : “An Oasis of Liberty”
    Oct 15, 2024
    Michael Angelos 1953-2024 : “An Oasis of Liberty”

    Michael Charles Angelos, 70, passed away peacefully on the evening of Tuesday May 28, 2024 at his home in Davenport, Iowa.  Angelos was quiet, reserved, soft-spoken, and a relentless driving force for restoring Liberty in Iowa. Those of us who loved him and enjoyed his revolutionary spirit will be celebrating Angelos' life on what would have been his 71st birthday on Sunday, November 3, at the Freight House's Front Street Brewery (421 West River Drive, Davenport IA), beginning at 3 p.m. Please join us in celebrating Angelos' tireless effort to make the Quad Cities an oasis for Liberty.

  • Oct 08, 2024
    Poe Treat, in Motion: Ballet Quad Cities Presents “The Twisted Tales of Poe,” October 19 at the Spotlight Theatre

    Despite the author's 19th-century output, audiences shouldn't expect a performance of traditional 19th-century dance – not unless folks in the 1800s were also hoofing it to Jefferson Airplane, Led Zeppelin, and Jimi Hendrix.

  • May 21, 2024
    “Beer Beyond Germany: History of Brewing in the QC," through October 20

    German breweries had a huge impact on the lives of Scott County citizens in their time, and in the German American Heritage Center's exhibition Beer Beyond Germany: History of Brewing in the QC, on display through October 20, venue guests will have the chance to learn about historic breweries, how prohibition led to creative business ventures, and the booming brewing industry after the repeal of prohibition in the 1930s.

  • Oct 08, 2024
    “Raise Your Voice with Jason Reynolds,” October 22

    With its guest appearing in a special virtual program hosted by Illinois Libraries Present and the Rock Island and Silvis Public Libraries, the October 22 presentation Raise Your Voice with Jason Reynolds will offer a uniquely personal hour with the number-one New York Times bestselling author, as well as the recipient of a Newbery Honor, a Printz Honor, a Carnegie Medal, an NAACP Image Award, and multiple Coretta Scott King honors.

  • Oct 15, 2024
    SPECTRA Reading Series: Gina Franco, October 24

    Boasting a community write-in opportunity, an open-mic set, and a trio of evocative poetry readings, the Midwest Writing Center's latest SPECTRA Reading Series event will take place at Rock island's Rozz-Tox on October 24, this literary celebration featuring the talent of Melissa Conway, Zafirah Hassan, and showcased poet Gina Franco.

News & Commentary

  • 2024 Scott County Supervisor Candidates Group Collage.png
    Oct 14, 2024
    2024 Election Questionnaire for Scott County Supervisors

    Two of the five Board of Supervisor seats are up for Scott County voters to elect into office November 5, 2024. Five candidates are running for two seats.

  • Oct 07, 2024
    Illinois Dems to Down-Ticket Racers: There’ll Be No Drop-Offs If You Stay in Your Lanes

    Last year, the Democratic Party of Illinois and Governor JB Pritzker targeted local school-board races to defeat candidates who wanted to ban books and/or were receiving support from right-wing political organizations. The governor ended up claiming victory in more than seventy percent of those campaigns.

  • Oct 14, 2024
    Mayor Brandon Johnson Needs Schooling on the State of Illinois Education Circa 2013-17

    Last week, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson repeatedly slammed Statehouse legislators. “Some of the same individuals who claim to support an elected representative school board only got the gospel once I became mayor of Chicago,” Mayor Johnson told reporters during one of the most combative and counter-productive press conferences I have ever seen.

  • Sep 30, 2024
    Illinois Dems Struggle Mightily to Raise an Addressable Issue for Fall Veto Session

    For months now, Statehouse types have been talking about whether there’s a need for a fall veto session this year. The session is scheduled to run the two weeks after the November election. As one person put it, veto sessions are for things that the governor and legislators “have to do.” But with no gubernatorial vetoes to deal with, is there anything that absolutely has to be done before the end of the year?

  • Aug 28, 2024
    Who Has Access and/or Control of County Election Data Before, During, and After an Election?

    Scott County has purchased all-new election equipment and software for the upcoming, highly contentious 2024 election. It is fair to say that the purchase was fast-tracked in 2023 with approval by the Scott County Board of Supervisors, even though relevant concerns and questions from the public were not addressed, let alone satisfied.

Theatre

  • Oct 14, 2024
    Audio Drama: Rock Island Tunnel Co.'s “The Tapes: An Immersive Revolution,” at the Sound Conservatory through October 26

    K: I immediately thought that the tapes, as a plot device, were inspired by The Handmaid’s Tale. In that book, the heroine’s story is recorded on a series of cassette tapes. But you found a parallel in a different dystopian novel.

    M: It reminded me of the mysterious films in Philip K. Dick’s novel The Man in the High Castle. But audience members will just have to see for themselves what the tapes are, and what they mean.

  • Oct 11, 2024
    “The Sunshine Boys,” October 18 through 27

    A three-time Tony Award nominee that stands as one of the most popular, enduring, and beloved comedies on the résumé of playwright Neil Simon, the vaudeville salute The Sunshine Boys enjoys an October 18 through 27 engagement at Moline's Playcrafters Barn Theatre, this 1972 Broadway smash inspiring a run of 538 performances and an Oscar-winning movie adaptation.

  • Oct 08, 2024
    “Dial M for Murder,” October 18 through November 2

    Hailed by the Chicago Reader as a stage thriller that "ticks along like a stylish and well-oiled clock," playwright Jeffrey Hatcher's new take on the Alfred Hitchcock classic Dial M for Murder enjoys an October 18 through November 2 run at Moline's Black Box Theatre, the Chicago Sun-Times adding that this "crackling murder mystery" finds Hatcher providing "layers of meaning and 21st-century relevance."

  • Oct 10, 2024
    “The Rocky Horror Show,” October 18 through 27

    If Halloween is approaching, it must be time for that annual theatrical command: “Let's do the 'Time Warp' again!” Consequently, the Circa '21 Speakeasy will stage its ninth-annual presentation of the cult-musical smash The Rocky Horror Show from October 18 through 27, treating audiences to live performances of classic songs in this nutty, interactive experience that has been delighting show regulars and virgins alike for more than half a century.

  • Oct 13, 2024
    Young Footliters Youth Theatre's “Disney's My Son Pinocchio Jr.,” October 18 through 20

    With its songs by theatre legend Stephen Schwartz and its original life-size puppets created by West Liberty's Eulenspiegel Puppet Theatre Company, Disney's My Son Pinocchio Jr. serves as the 2024-25 season opening for the students talents of Young Footliters Youth Theatre, the one-act show's October 18 through 20 run at the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts treating audiences to a brand-new take on the beloved cartoon masterpiece.

Music

  • Oct 01, 2024
    Sessa, October 16

    Lauded by In Sheep's Clothing for creating music that is "sensual, romantic, and warm, with a minimal, relaxed approach, rich in texture and color," São Paulo sensation Sessa headlines an October 16 concert event at Rock Island venue Rozz-Tox, performing locally in support of his latest release Estrela Acesa.

  • Oct 01, 2024
    Bob Schneider, October 17

    The recipient of a staggering 55 Austin Music Awards to date, for multiple projects ranging from 1992 to 2017, pop, rock, folk, and country singer/songwriter Bob Schneider headlines an October 17 concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, the artist's most recent album The Human Torch lauded by Goldmine as "a record filled with everything that Bob does best ... made with remarkable nuance and filled with sounds and statements that are as profound as they are laugh-inducing."

  • Oct 08, 2024
    “A Taste of Ireland,” October 18

    Their Midwestern tour having already taken the exhilarating performance troupe to Nebraska and Missouri before heading to Illinois and Indiana, the multi-faceted talents of A Taste of Ireland land in Iowa with an October 18 stop at the Adler Theatre, with audiences invited to laugh, cry, and jig into the night during a thrilling production designed to be Celtic for a whole new generation.

  • Oct 08, 2024
    Everclear, October 18

    Hailed by Rock and Roll Globe as "one of the most renowned alternative rock bands of the past three decades," the talents of Everclear – led by vocalist, guitarist, and founder Art Alexakis – headline an October 18 concert at East Moline venue The Rust Belt, performing all the hits from throughout the outfit's extraordinary, three decades-long catalog, and spotlighting tracks off their platinum-selling album Songs from an American Movie Vol. One.

  • Oct 08, 2024
    The People Brothers Band, October 18

    Wisconsin-based talents whose laurels include nine award wins from Madison Area Music Association, including citations as Pop/R&B Artist of the Year in 2017, '19, and '20, the artists of the People Brothers Band headline an October 18 concert at Davenport's Redstone Room, the group's 2023 album Sisters & Brothers hailed by Isthmus as "a master class in blending rock, soul, and jam-friendly positive vibes into an upbeat instant classic."

Movies

  • Oct 14, 2024
    Geneses and Revelations: “Saturday Night,” “The Apprentice,” “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story,” “Piece by Piece,” and “Terrifier 3”

    In the spirit of the five-word pitches each of this quintet requires, here are similarly succinct (if 295-words-longer) takes on what resulted, discussed in order of attendance.

  • Oct 10, 2024
    Mike Schulz with Dave & Darren on Planet 93.9 FM

    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, October 10: Discussion of Joker: Folie à Deux, 'Salem's Lot, and White Bird; previws of Piece by Piece, Saturday Night, Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, The Apprentice, Average Joe, and Terrifier 3; praise for Max's The Penguin (Cristin Milioti!); and a primer on all the different names for sequels and prequels these days. There are too many. Names, we mean. But also sequels and prequels.

  • Oct 08, 2024
    “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” with Host Nell Campbell, October 20

    In celebration of the musical cult classic's 49th anniversary, the iconic entertainment The Rocky Horror Picture Show will enjoy a special screening at Davenport's Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center on October 20, the event boasting a live shadow cast, audience participation, a costume contest, and the eagerly awaited guest host Nell Campbell, the Rocky Horror co-star who appeared opposite Meat Loaf as Eddie's eccentric love interest Columbia.

  • Oct 08, 2024
    “One Person, One Vote?”, October 20

    With only four weeks left until the upcoming election, the Azubuike African American Council for The Arts is proud to mark its 10th anniversary with a timely and crucial screening of the award-winning documentary One Person, One Vote?, a lauded work by renowned filmmaker Maximina Juson that enjoys a Davenport screening at the Last Picture House on October 20.

  • Oct 09, 2024
    Now Playing: Friday, October 11, through Thursday, October 17

    Now playing at area theaters.

Art

  • Oct 01, 2024
    Artist Celebration: David Alfaro Siqueiros, October 17

    Held in conjunction with the venue's current exhibition Revolutionary Artist: The Prison Fantasies of David Alfaro Siqueiros, Davenport's Figge Art Museum will host a special Artist Celebration in honor of the exhibit's creator, the October 18 event inviting guests to participate in mural-making activities while learning about Siqueiros from Figge curators.

  • Sep 03, 2024
    “Prayers of Steel,” September 6 through October 18

    Inspired by Carl Sandburg’s poem of the same name, Lisa Nelson Raabe's Prayers of Steel serves as the first art exhibition of the 2024-25 academic year at Galesburg's Carl Sandburg College, its display in the Lonnie Eugene Stewart Art Gallery treating patrons to the talents of the Peoria-based artist who has enjoyed solo exhibitions in locales including San Antonio, Chicago, Peoria, Decatur, and Quincy.

  • Oct 08, 2024
    Musical Tour w/ Wolfskill & the Wild, October 24

    On October 24, Figge Art Museum patrons are invited on a journey through the Davenport venue's Lewis Collection in a guided Musical Tour with Wolfskin & The Wild, an evening with the renowned folk duo designed to bring art to life through the power of music.

  • Aug 26, 2024
    “Buchholz, Kugler, & Mitchell,” through October 28

    Vibrant color, bold design, and a whole lot of water will be showcased at the Quad City Arts International Airport Gallery through October 28, the collective Buchholz, Kugler, & Mitchell exhibition boasting enticing figurative paintings by Holly Buchholz and K. Nadine Mitchell alongside mixed-media sculpture by Dean Kugler.

  • Sep 28, 2024
    “UD: Then & Now,” September 30 through November 8

    Formerly known as the German Theological College and Seminary, the University of Dubuque has a strong and vibrant history, and it's one that will be celebrated in a series of arresting and heartwarming photographs, with the exhibition UD: Then & Now on display in the university's Bisignano Art Gallery from September 30 through November 8.

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