Performing an eagerly awaited comedy set in the venue's first live event since 2020, frequent Bob & Tom Show guest Donnie Baker – the self-described “Kentucky redneck caricature” who's the brainchild of comedian Ron Sexton – headlines East Moline's The Rust Belt on the May 1, his standup set treating patrons to an evening with the blissfully rude character who describes himself as a “trapped in the '80s” guy who “will never admit defeat.”

An acclaimed national comedian with ties to the Quad Cities performs two live shows at Davenport's Rhythm City Casino Resort on April 29, with TV and film talent Tammy Pescatelli treating Rhythm Room attendees to the hilarious insights and sharp-witted observations beloved from Last Comic Standing and her 2013 Netflix special Finding the Funny.

Offered in conjunction with the Figge Art Museum's current exhibition For America: 200 Years of Paintings from the National Academy of Design, the Muscatine Art Center, on April 29, presents a virtual, behind-the-scenes exploration of artworks in the venue's permanent collection, with each featured artwork created by an important American artist, many of whom were associated with the gallery of the exhibit's title.

With its playwright José Rivera lauded by TheatreMania.com for the “expansive, ecstatic, poetic tone in his work that few stage writers dare to attempt,” the riveting quiltwork drama Sonnets for an Old Century will be available for April 16 through 25 viewing in a virtual presentation by Iowa City's Riverside Theatre, treating online audiences to a kaleidoscopic work that inspired Chicago Stage Review to rave, “Rivera’s script is staggering and lovely.”

In the latest presentation in the Englert Theatre's virtual Storytellers series, professional actor and playwright Katie Colletta will deliver a crash course in children's entertainment with her April 24 program Youth Storytelling Workshop, a program designed for participants to get their creative juices flowing with interactive games creative ways to bring stories to life both on the page and on the stage.

With the artist and his band performing the full repertoire from his most recent album Be Here Instead, alt-country and Americana musician Parker Millsap plays a virtual concert on April 23, the Englert Theatre presentation showcasing a talent who, according to NPR, “explores pop songwriting with playful magnetism,” and who SavingCountryMusic.com deemed “fearless in both what he's willing to say and how he's willing to say it.”

A special in-person event held in conjunction with the current exhibition For America: 200 Years of Painting from the National Academy of Design, the Figge Art Museum's April 23 “After Hours” celebration will treat guests to a socially distanced and semi-private evening at the museum to view the exhibit, wine and individual charcuterie plates from the Figge Cafe, and guides available in the exhibition space to answer questions.

Serving as the final public presentation in Riverside Theatre's month-long “Sonnet Project,” the Iowa City company and its neighboring Big Swing Brewery will host an outdoor screening of the iconic Shakespeare-comedy-turned-Hollywood-smash 10 Things I Hate About You, with portions of the night's sales of Easy Eddy pints benefiting both Riverside and downtown Iowa City's FilmScene venues.

Taking their musical artistry to another dimension through an animated multi-media concert experience, Bruce Hecksel and Julie Patchouli headline the latest virtual presentation by the University of Dubuque's Heritage Center: the kaleidoscopic art-and-music showcase Landscape of Guitar: The Animated Painting Concert Experience featuring Patchouli and Terra Guitarra, available for streaming on April 22.

Iconic groups ranging from the Jackson 5 to New Kids on the Block to *NSYNC will be celebrated at The Tangled Wood on April 27 when the Bettendorf venue hosts Boy Band Trivia Night – an evening in which music fans can trade their knowledge for cash prizes while answering questions on the Backstreet Boys, One Direction, Menudo, and loads of other beloved pop artists.

Pages