Held in tandem with the weekend's Bill Bell Jazz & Heritage Festival and Rock Island's annual Family Fun Day, the August 19 Pulling Focus Black Film Festival's Winner's Showcase finds the Azubuike African American Council for the Arts partnering with Polyrhythms and the MLK Center for the first time in this celebration of African American and Black Diasporic voices.

Currently touring in support of his recording Set in Stone, the artist's first original album release in 13 years, country, blues, gospel, and Southern-rock icon Travis Tritt headlines an August 24 concert event at Davenport's Adler Theatre, the two-time Grammy winner's chart-topping smashes including “Help Me Hold On,” “Anymore,” Can I Trust You with My Heart,” “Foolish Pride,” and “Best of Intentions.”

With this year's weekend event held in conjunction with Rock Island's annual Family Fun Day and the area-wide Alternating Currents Festival, Polyrhythms will collaborate with the MLK Center, Rock Island Parks & Recreation, and the Rock Island County NAACP for the ninth-annual Bill Bell Jazz & Heritage Festival, an August 18 through 20 celebration of cultural heritage in the Quad Cities named after the late musician, educator, and East Moline native lovingly known as “The Jazz Professor.”

Boasting a potent mix of old-school blues traditions and modern-day flair, singer/songwriter and guitarist Kara Grainger performs in the Summer Concert Series at Rock Island's Schwiebert Riverfront Park on August 24, with the Mississippi Valley Blues Society co-presenting a night with this native Australian whose vocals, according to Rock & Blues Muse, "packed a punch," and who "played monster guitar solos that had the crowd whooping and clapping."