Hailed by the Los Angeles Times as musicians "whose soulful, stripped-down approach combines the softer moments of the Replacements with a bit of the country coloring of the early BoDeans’ albums," the alt-country artists of Gear Daddies headline a July 26 concert at Maquoketa's Codfish Hollow Barn, these Midwestern favorites also lauded by the Argus Leader as "one of the most underrated Minnesota-based bands of all time."

Returning to the area for its incredible 105th year, an eagerly awaited six-day festival boasting games, competitions, vendors, and concert sets by more than two dozen national and local acts returns with the 2025 Mississippi Valley Fair, its July 29 through August 3 engagement at Davenport's Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds boasting, as always, grandstand performances by chart-toppers, multi-platinum sellers, and multiple-award winners.

A massive display of one of the venue's six collections storerooms, the long-awaited open-storage locale The Vault is officially viewable at Davenport's Putnam Museum & Science Center. its shelves featuring countless pieces of fine China dinner sets, 16th-century saddles, a ship wheel, turn-of-the-century furniture, and a full-sized shrine.

Lauded by the New York Times as a "fresh, winning, and deliriously tuneful" musical that's "as sweet as a show can be without promoting tooth decay," the Tony-winning Broadway sensational Hairspray closes Countryside Community Theatre's 2025 summer season with the show's July 25 through August 3 run, this stage sensation also praised by Variety as a "sweet, infinitely spirited, bubblegum-flavored confection" that "more than lives up to its promise."