With his pair of 2021 releases both earning raves from Blues Blast magazine – the studio recording Resurrection deemed "an excellent album" and the live LP Blues for the Southside described as "a high-flying, straight-ahead blues love letter" – acclaimed singer/songwriter and guitarist Mike Zito plays Davenport's Rhythm City Casino Resort Rhythm Room on December 8, Rock & Blues Muse having called Resurrection “as good as modern blues gets.”

Touring in support of their fifth full-length recording Past the Light which is slated for December release, the Chicago-based musicians of Old Shoe play an album-release concert at Davenport's Redstone Room on December 8, the five-piece ensemble a frequently touring outfit that, according to WSUM.org, “incorporates rock, bluegrass, jazz, and a little folk, creating nothing but an upbeat atmosphere."

With their 2022 album White Trash Revelry lauded by Glide magazine as "a deeply satisfying mix of songs," country singer/songwriter and North Carolina native Adeem the Artist headlines a December 9 concert event at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, their most recent recording also hailed by PopMatters for the "authentic empathy that permeates this album and lends genuine gravity to the songs held within."

Headlining a December 5 concert in support of their 2023 release OK to Wonder, an album that Americana Highways said "provides listeners of bluegrass with revelry, wonder, and whimsy on 11 distinctive insightful songs," the touring artists of Arkansauce play Davenport's Raccoon Motel on December 5, their latest recording also inspiring Americana Highways to state, "The musicians perform in a tightly improvisational style within the structure of some tightly knit melodies."

Lauded by Theatre Reviews Limited's Carolyn Albert as "the sort of grand spectacle that leaves us with our eyes wide open and our mouths agape," a delightful take on Charles Dickens by Tony Award winners Alan Menken and Lynn Ahrens arrives in the Spotlight Theatre's December 1 through 10 run of A Christmas Carol: The Musical, with Albert adding that this yuletide family treat is "a magnificent way to celebrate the season with loved ones."

A delightful pastiche of holiday songs - some familiar, some created with tongue firmly in cheek and double entendre abounding - The Ho Ho Ho Show makes its area debut at Moline's Black Box Theatre December 8 through 17, adding a little naughty and nice to theatregoers' yuletide season with a cabaret-style entertainment boasting music by Eric Lane Barnes, Michael Duff, Beckie Menzie and Tom Sivik and writer Cheryl Coons.

A sweetly nostalgic look at holiday traditions and life in rural America, the touring production of the musical-comedy hit Away in the Basement: A Church Basement Ladies Christmas will be performed in the University of Dubuque's Heritage Center on December 5, the family-friendly production a holiday-themed sequel to the national audience favorite Church Basement Ladies.

Between December 1 and 10, Timber Lake Playhouse audiences are invited to spend some seasonal time with music icons Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Elvin Presley when the Mt. Carroll venue presents its run of Million Dollar Quartet Christmas, a yuletide-themed sequel to the Tony-winning Broadway smash Million Dollar Quartet boasting seasonal perennials such as “Jingle Bell Rock” and “Run Run Rudolph” alongside classics including “Don't Be Cruel” and “Ring of Fire.”

Inviting audiences to feel the beat of the drum, experience the hypnotizing power of dance, and enjoy the rhythm of music, the gifted dancers and committed educators of Native Pride Productions enjoy a December 3 through 9 tenure as guests in Quad City Arts' Visiting Artists Series, the group's four public performances demonstrating and sharing the cultural history, traditions, ways, beliefs, and spiritual importance of indigenous peoples.

In the eagerly awaited return of a seasonal Quad Cities tradition, visitors can experience the wonders of a classic Victorian holiday season in Moline's unique Deere-family homes through 19th Century Christmas, the Butterworth Center's and Deere-Wiman House's annually beloved December 3 event boasting litany of yuletide treats including live music performances, interactive tours, make-and-take activities, refreshments, and, of course, a special visit by Santa Claus.

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