Lauded by NPR for songs that are “bright, approachable, outward-facing throwbacks to the best in classic countrified rock” while also “a canvas for serious, sometimes enormously ambitious ruminations on the meaning of life,” the indie-rock and -folk artists of Dawes enjoy a two-night booking at Maquoketa's Codfish Hollow Barn on August 2 and 3, their “Two Evenings with Dawes” event treating fans a repertoire ranging from the band's 2009 North Hills debut to 2018's Passwords.

Composed of keyboardist Mike Maimone, guitarist Bob Buckstaff, and drummer Chris Pagnani, the Chicago-based rockers of Mutts perform as Moeller Nights headliners on August 8, the trio's engagement at Davenport's Triple Crown Whiskey Bar & Raccoon Motel showcasing the high-energy talents that led MusicExistence.com to rave of their output, “I seriously don't see who wouldn't go crazy for this band as they press the 'play' button.”

Praised by Marquee magazine for their “dynamic presence” and for “continuously pushing the genre of bluegrass and their legacy within the genre,” the members of Yonder Mountain String Band serve as Moeller Nights headliners at East Moline's The Rust Belt on August 8, the musicians' recent album Love. Ain't Love described by LiveForLiveMusic.com as a work in which the chart-topping group “finds plenty of new twists on the way to making a stellar record.”

Named “Best Musical of the Year” by Time magazine, Newsweek, and the Outer Critics Circle Awards, the tuneful, tap-dancing entertainment Dames at Sea serves as the season-ending production for the Mississippi Bend Players at Augustana College's Brunner Theatre Center, the show's July 26 through August 4 run demonstrating why the New York Times called it “a gem of a musical” and United Press International deemed it “an instant hit.”