• “Kaleidoscope Odyssey,” March 14 through September 7

    Featuring more than 24 large-scale, immersive kaleidoscopes created by world-renowned artist and Davenport native Tom Chouteau, the traveling exhibition Kaleidoscope Odyssey will be housed at Davenport's Putnam Museum & Science Center through September 7, this fascinating walk-through event designed to celebrate the intersection of visual art, science, and optics.

  • “Five Nights at Freddy's” Pizza Party, March 16

    Treating kids to an evening of video games, yummy food, and a bunch of maniacal (but somehow lovable) animatronics, the Rock Island Public Library's Watts-Midtown Branch will, on March 16, welcome guests to the Five Nights at Freddy's Pizza Party, in which youths can enjoy free pizza while playing video games on the big screen.

  • Virtual Illinois Libraries Present: “Beyond the Page with Percival Everett,” March 19

    With the event's subject a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winner whose 2001 novel Erasure was adapted into Cord Jefferson's Oscar-winning 2023 comedy American Fiction, Beyond the Page with Percival Everett will enjoy a virtual March 19 presentation in an event hosted by Illinois Libraries Present, the author's prize-winning James from 2024 hailed by the New York Times as "Everett's most thrilling novel, but also his most soulful."

  • Larry the Cable Guy, March 21

    With two of his seven comedy albums hitting platinum status and children of all ages adoring him for voicing tow truck Mater in the Disney/Pizer franchise Cars, Blue Collar Comedian Larry the Cable Guy brings his national tour to Davenport's Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center on March 21, the Billboard Award winner also a bestselling author and co-founder of the non-profit organization The Git-R-Done Foundation.

  • Jessica Kirson, March 22

    A lauded comedian, actor, and producer revered for her frequent standup sets at iconic New York City venues including the Gotham Comedy Club, Laugh Factory, Caroline's, and the Improv, Jessica Kirson brings her national tour to Davenport's Capitol Theatre on March 22, her varied list of credits including appearances on TV's Kevin Can Wait and Ramy, as well as Pete Davidson's critically acclaimed film The King of Staten Island.

  • Progressive Democrats' and Neocon Republicans' Stars Align Again

    President Trump’s February 19, 2026 Executive Order 14387, under the Defense Production Act of 1950, to ensure a stable and adequate supply of U.S.-produced Glyphosate also provides a liability shield for Bayer, a company that deliberately poisons human beings. It is unconscionable no matter the inconvenience in switching to safer, saner farming protocols, such as regenerative farming and crop rotation.

  • Reader 1043 MAR 2026 Jay Strickland Paper Peace Cranes Workshop
    Jay R. Strickland, RIP (1952-2026)

    Jay R. Strickland, 73, of Rock Island, passed away Sunday, February 22, 2026, at Unity Point Health, Rock Island. A Celebration of Life will be held Saturday April 4, 2026 from 2-4pm at the Reader offices located at 532 W 3rd Street, in downtown Davenport, Iowa.  Memorials can be made to the Figge Art Museum, Davenport.

  • Keith E. Meyer, RIP (1941-2026)
    Keith E. Meyer, RIP (1941-2026)

    Keith E. Meyer, 84, formerly a longtime resident of Davenport, died Tuesday, February 17, 2026, with family at his side. Keith was known for many things in his life including a peaceful protester and activist city watchdog who eventually was elected a Davenport City Alderman. Keith’s passions in life were easily identifiable when visiting his old house at 1012 Marquette Street. Visitors would be greeted by big black labs, or huskies, and offered a sample of his wine or homemade biscotti.

  •  Summit Carbon Solutions’ proposed pipeline route. (Main image courtesy Summit Carbon Solutions; seal courtesy State of Iowa)
    Iowa CO2 Pipeline Bills Are Faux Property Rights Virtue Signaling

    The Senate and House bills for the use of eminent domain for the Co2 pipeline, now called hazardous liquid pipeline, have become the same as they move into discussion by our legislators. We must review SF2067 and HF2104 to understand how to argue against this legislation.

  • Frank Klipsch III, RIP (1949-2026)

    Relief and Opportunity Lessons During UncertaintyI’m standing on a sidewalk at the sideways bend of our great river – a perfect place to reflect on the legacy of my father, former YMCA CEO and Davenport mayor Frank Klipsch III.

  • Bachelor's Decree: “Company,” at Augustana College through March 15

    Augustana College's production of Company is expansive, lively, and musically superb.

  • “Honky Tonk Angels,” March 11 through April 25

    Praised by WhartonPlazaTheatre.com for its "rousing musical numbers, hilarious social commentary, and heavenly harmony," the feel-good, foot-stomping, country-music sensation Honky Tonk Angels enjoys a March 11 through April 25 run at Rock Island's Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse, RochesterMedia.com adding, "To paraphrase a well-known movie quote: Is this heaven? No. It’s Honky Tonk Angels. Welcome to heaven on earth.”

  • “Primary Trust,” February 27 through March 15

    The recipient of the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Drama that, according to Intermission magazine, "cuts to the heart with a simply constructed story, understated humor, and dialogue unburdened by purple prose," playwright Eboni Booth's Primary Trust makes its Iowa City debut at Riverside Theatre February 27 through March 15, the work also hailed by The Daily Beast as "beautifully written" and "a 95-minute, intermissionless, buffed-to-gleaming jewel.”

  • City Circle Theatre Company's “Jesus Christ Superstar,” March 20 through 29

    One of the most beloved and iconic rock operas of all time enjoys a spectacular new staging at the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts when City Circle Theatre Company presents hosts its July 20 through 29 run of Jesus Christ Superstar, the Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice classic boasting such unforgettable numbers as “Everything's Alright,” “Hosanna,” “King Herod's Song,” and the timeless ballad “I Don't Know How to Love Him.”

  • The University of Dubuque's “Something Rotten!”, March 20 through 22

    With Time Out NY calling the show “Broadway's funniest, splashiest, slap-happiest musical comedy in at least 400 years,” the University of Dubuque’s Department of Fine and Performing Arts presents a March 20 through 22 production of Something Rotten!, the zany, Tony-winning farce that the Hollywood Reporter called “a big, brash, meta-musical studiously fashioned in the mold of Monty Python's Spamalot.”

  • Chained Up Alice: Alice in Chains Tribute, March 14

    Composed of vocalist/acoustic guitarist Emily Cooper, vocalist/guitarist Dan Spannraft, bass player Natalee Algozino, and drummer Jason DesBiens, the rockers of Chained Up Alice: Alice in Chains Tribute headline a March 14 engagement at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, the Chicago musicians dedicated to performing songs from both eras of Alice in Chains' career, delivering hits, classic fan favorites, and deep cuts in a high-energy, unforgettable live performance.

  • Foghat and Head East, March 14

    Two legendary classic-rock bands with more than a half-century of professional performance apiece will team up for one unforgettable night at the Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center on March 14, with the Davenport venue proud to host Foghat ridin’ strong on their “Slow Ride” 50th Anniversary tour, and joined by the authentic, full-vocal, good-time rock harmonies of Head East.

  • Descendents, March 14

    With voicalist Milo Aukerman, guitarist Stephen Egerton, drummer Bill Stevenson, and bass player Karl Alvarez having stayed with the outfit for a full 40 years in a row, the punk rockers of Descendents bring their national tour to Davenport's Capitol Theatre on March 14, the band itself having been it existence since 1977, and the group's biggest hits including 1996's Everything Sucks, 2004' Cool to Be You, and 2016's chart-topping Hypercaffium Spazzinate.

  • Ricky Warwick St. Patrick's Day Bash, March 14

    Headlining the Moline venue's St. Patrick's Day Bash, and with last year's Blood Ties praised by Louder as an album that found its creator "sharper than ever," Black Star Riders, Thin Lizzy, and The Almighty lead singer Ricky Warwick makes his eagerly awaited return to Rascals Live on March 14, his latest recording also hailed by Cryptic Rock as "an intense, raw experience through heartache, personal reflection, and the tattoos that life leaves on the soul."

  • “Up Close with Blueprint,” March 15

    Delivering an intimate evening of expressive musical beauty, four gifted members of the Quad City Symphony Orchestra join forces on March 15 for Up Close with Blueprint, the Figge Art Museum event boasting the talents of violinists Naha Greenholtz and Emily Nash, viola player Bruno Vaz Da Silva, and cellist Hannah Holman.

Art

  • “Laber & Mullins,” through March 20

    With the works of both Iowa-based artists boasting vivid colors and expressive storytelling qualities, the dual exhibition Laber & Mullins will be on display in Rock Island's Quad City Arts Center through March 20, this showcase of local talent boasting evocative, thrilling paintings by Phillip Laber and Rachael Mullins.

  • “Rocks, Minerals, & Gems: The Olsen Collection,” through March 20

    Amethyst cathedrals, diamonds, Lake Superior agates, opals, geodes, and additionally beautiful objects will be on view at the University of Dubuque's Bisignano Art Gallery through March 20, with works in the fascinating exhibition Rocks, Minerals, & Gems: The Olsen Collection spanning five-plus decades of curiosity, craftsmanship, and global exploration.

  • “Langer, Lesperance, & Schroeder,” through April 27

    A wide range of disparate mediums and gorgeous artworks will be on display at the Quad City Arts International Airport Gallery through April 27, with art lovers area-wide invited to view new metal and fiber sculpture by Amanda Langer, encaustics by Cindy Lesperance, and Japanese tiles by Nick Schroeder in the exhibit Langer, Lesperance, & Schroeder.

  • “Young Artists at the Figge,” through May 24

    Always an eagerly awaited series at the Figge Art Museum, the latest incarnation of Young Artists at the Figge will be on display from through May 24, with the Davenport venue celebrating the accomplishments of budding creative talents whose works will be showcased in a continuing series of individual exhibitions.

  • “A Surreal Lens: Photography from the Figge Collection,” through June 21

    For the Davenport's final new exhibition of 2025, the Figge Art Museum will be taking an up-close-and-personal look at some of its most arresting in-house works in A Surreal Lens: Photography from the Figge Collection, a celebration of the medium on display in the Lewis Gallery hrough June 21.