A consistently popular and lauded presence on the Midwestern touring circuit, beloved folk singer/songwriter Cody Diekhoff – better known by his recording alias Chicago Farmer – headlines a January 18 concert with his band The Field Notes at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, the artist a soulful crooner and guitarist who inspired No Depression to rave, “If the Midwest is looking for a voice, the search is over.”

Having made waves across the Christian-music community with the release of his debut single "Provider" and his first top-20 Billboard-charting single "Every Step of the Way," Red Street Records artist Cade Thompson headlines a January 12 concert at the University of Dubuque's Heritage Center, appearing in a Band Together Charity Concert that will demonstrate how Thompson's sound appeals to believers and mainstream pop audiences alike.

An annual fundraiser held, in 2024, in celebration of the company's recently concluded 20th year of verse-theatre stage successes, the Quad Cities' theatre troupe the Prenzie Players will host their Twelfth Night Gala on January 6, with the evening at the Village of East Davenport's Village Theatre boasting a silent auction, classical performances by company members, enacted poetry, and live music.

Designed for those fascinated by, or terrified about, the rise of artificial intelligence is invited to a January 11 virtual event hosted by the Rock Island and Silvis Public Libraries, when Illinois Libraries Present's Speculating Our AI Future finds bestselling science-fiction writers Cory Doctorow, Ken Liu, and Martha Wells in discussion on the promise, perils, and possible impacts that AI will have on our future, as well as AI as portrayed in contemporary and future science-fiction writing.