With Doom Charts raving about the ensemble's "dueling male/female vocals, killer riffs, and ... element of looming danger," the touring rockers of Temptress headline an April 19 concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, their 2023 recording SEE hailed by mxdawn's Sierra Light as "an album that is sure to leave a lasting impression."

With Pitchfork magazine praising the musician's 2020 recording Purple Moonlight Pages for its "shifty rhythms, twinkly brass, and keys," Wisconsin-based rapper, poet, and producer Rory Allen Philip Ferreira – performing under his stage moniker R.A.P. Ferriera – headlines an April 23 concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, the artist's recent professional offerings including the 2024 album OUTSTANDING UNDERSTANDING and last year's collaborative studio album The Night Green Side of It, performed with Kenny Segal.

Alash, April 17

Internationally acclaimed throat singers whose American credits include touring with Béla Fleck & the Flecktones to promote the Grammy-winning album Jingle All the Way (featuring the Russian talents as guest artists), the musicians of Alash make an eagerly awaited return to Rock Island's Rozz-Tox on April 17, the trio noted for their subtle infusion of modern influences into traditional folk music.

A Quad Cities-based tribute act dedicated to free-spirited and energetic concert experiences from the Stop Making Sense era, the tour de force of musicians known as Heads in Motion play Rock Island's RIBCO on April 18, show with the 10-piece ensemble celebrating Oscar, Grammy, and Tony Award winner David Byrne and his iconic rock outfit Talking Heads.

Its headliner a native of Aledo, Illinois, who became one of the most acclaimed female country singers of the 1980s and '90s, An Evening with Suzy Bogguss enjoys an April 18 performance at Galesburg's Orpheum Theatre, the artist a living legend who earned eight Top 10 hits in the 20th century before exploring new influences – including jazz, Western swing, and the Bakersfield sound – during the current one.

Performing all of the artist's hits including "Como La Flor," "Amor Prohibido," "Si Una Vez," and "Bidi Bidi Bom Bom," the tribute talents of 512: The Selena Experience bring their tour to Galesburg's Orpheum Theatre on April 23, the group having played for the Chicago Bulls and United States Marine Corps in Okinawa, Japan, and the show a dynamic touring celebration of the legacy and dance-tastic hits of the late, great pop and Tejano chanteuse Selena.

With the concert event's list of inspiring songs including “How Great Thou Art,” “Swing Down Sweet Chariot,” “It Was Jesus,” and “I’ll Fly Away,” Peace in the Valley: A Gospel Tribute to Johnny Cash & Elvis Presley will enjoy an April 18 performance at Mt. Carroll's Timber Lake Playhouse, showcased singer Jonathan Lyons creating an evening of timeless music filled with hope, reflection, and peace.

With the show chockful of upbeat, honky-tonk hits including "Ring of Fire," "Dukes of Hazard," and "On the Road Again," the tribute talents of The Highway Men Live land at Maquoketa's Ohnward Fine Arts Center on April 18, the ensemble having performed country-music to millions of fans around the country, and emerging as perhaps the greatest country-music super-group in America.

With author Steve Yockey's work hailed by LA Weekly as a "series of haunted tales ... strung together with expert eeriness," the creepy vignettes of Very Still & Hard to See enjoy an April 23 through 26 staging at Bettendorf's Scott Community College, Stage Scene LA adding that Yockey's presentation is "the theatrical equivalent of Disneyland’s Space Mountain: i.e. equal parts excitement, terror, and glee."

With the solo show by former Iowa Poet Laureate Mary Swander described by The News' Cheryl Allen as "an artful mix of both seriousness and fun," Coop, a Story of An Amish Conscientious Objector enjoys a pair of area performances this spring, this little-known story of Mennonite men from Kalona, Iowa enjoying presentations at Davenport's German American Heritage Center on April 19 and Muscatine Community College on April 21.

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