Balloting is now open for the second part of the 2010 Best of the Quad Cities survey.
Click here to begin voting online.
The survey includes 63 questions in the categories of "Arts, Culture, & Entertainment," "Night Life," "Shopping & Services," and "People," and all we ask is that you provide reasonable answers for at least 20 questions.
People who complete a valid ballot and choose to receive both once-a-week content alerts from the River Cities' Reader and Low Fare E-Alerts from the Quad City International Airport will be entered in a drawing to win a $500 AirTran Gift Certificate good for booking airfares at AirTran.com.
Voting closes on Friday, September 10. Results will be printed on October 14 in the River Cities' Reader, and published online in late September.
To download a pdf of the puzzle, click 
Here you'll find links to all the content in the official guide to the 2010 IH Mississippi Valley Blues Festival -- taking place July 2 through 4 in Davenport's LeClaire Park -- along with previous coverage of this year's performers from the River Cities' Reader.
The Kinsey brothers -- guitarist/vocalist Donald, drummer Ralph, and bassist Kenneth -- developed their funk-oriented blues sound from a lifetime of working together on stage and in the studio. Their father and musical mentor, the late Mississippi-born Lester "Big Daddy" Kinsey, introduced his sons to gospel and blues early on. As youngsters, they saw firsthand the emotional power of music in their grandfather's church in Gary, Indiana. By the time Donald was 13, he was an accomplished guitarist who performed with Big Daddy around Gary. During the late 1960s, Big Daddy began taking the family act on the road. In 1972, Albert King recruited Donald as his rhythm guitarist.
Alvin "Little Pink" Anderson is the son of Piedmont blues giant Pink Anderson. Alvin was born on July 13, 1954, in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and by the age of three was performing with his father as a tap dancer and singer in the medicine shows that traveled throughout the South. It was also at this early age that Pink Anderson started teaching Alvin to play the acoustic guitar. By the time Alvin was 13, he was touring with Clarence Carter -- until his age was discovered!
Just five weeks after winning the Quad Cities round of the Iowa Blues Challenge, the Steady Rollin' Blues Band emerged victorious from the final round of the state challenge in Des Moines on May 22. The prize package includes studio recording time and a slot at the IH Mississippi Valley Blues Festival for July 3, as well as money to help support the band's trip to Memphis next January, when they will represent Iowa in the International Blues Challenge.
I must start out this bio admitting I have not witnessed this gentleman in person. Sometimes it is better that way. I do know by listening to his CDs and reading his stories that this guy is going to be the real deal. This guy is a bluesman in every sense of the word. This is going to be another one that you will be saying, "Where do they find these folks? Little Brother Jones is great!" Well, thank Bob Covemaker for this one.
As luck would have it, when the Entertainment Committee was looking for a regional band for the opening slot on Sunday at the Fest, across our collective desk came a disc by The Jimmys. Not only was the music rollicking, dance-worthy blues, but the band had horns -- something missing from other acts at the Fest.
