With SputnikMusic.com praising their most recent album When We Were in Love as “larger than life in its indie-pop/rock sound,” adding that “shimmering synth, strong vocals, and endless energy are all constants throughout,” Mike Mains & the Branches headline a January 26 concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, the indie musicians described by Sunlight magazine as “a powerhouse of a band both in sound and lyrics.”

Described by CNN as “amazing,” by the San Francisco Chronicle as “wonderful,” and by the Hollywood Reporter as “a fascinating portrait,” Picture of His Life, the 2019 documentary on lauded underwater photographer Amos Nachoum, opens the 2022 season in River Action's QC Environmental Film Series, this January 23 presentation at Davenport's Figge Art Museum a multiple festival-award winner by acclaimed directors Dani Merkin and Yonatan Nir.

With the Washington Post deeming her latest novel “a fast-paced, darkly romantic journey,” and NPR stating that its characters are “unique, flawed, and sad in a way that burrows into your heart,” best-selling and award-winning novelist Silvia Moreno-Green will take part in a virtual conversation hosted by the Rock Island Public Library, the January 26 event allowing the author to discuss her 2021 book Velvet Was the Night and her genre-defying mashups of cultural noir and Lovecraft-ian horror.

In a special panel discussion taking place at the Bettendorf Public Library on January 25, area professors and their students will share some of their faculty-led experiences abroad, their Stories from Around the World program presented by the World Affairs Council of the Quad Cities and featuring Augustana College's Dr. Mariano J. Magalhães and St. Ambrose University's Dr. Kirk Kelley, Dr. Terri Switzer, and Dr. Duk Kim.