One of William Shakespeare's most famous, powerful, and controversial comedies will be staged in Rock Island's Lincoln Park July 14 through 22, as Genesius Guild takes on the Bard's The Merchant of Venice, a legendary work that has inspired numerous film adaptations and three stage operas, with its 1989 Broadway revival earning a Tony Award nomination for star Dustin Hoffman.

The formidable talents of Walter Trout, Jonny Lang, Shaun Murphy, and many others will be showcased when the Mississippi Valley Blues Society hosts the 2018 Mississippi Valley Blues Festival in Davenport's LeClaire Park, the July 6 and 7 outdoor event boasting exhilarating sets with national, regional, and local blues artists and interactive presentations for kids in the society's popular BlueSKool program.

The extraordinary talents of four gifted singer/songwriters – one of them born in the Quad Cities – will soon be on display at the Codfish Hollow Barn, with the Maquoketa venue hosting the July 4 event “Barn on the Fourth: Lady Liberty,” a special holiday concert showcasing a quartet of female artists including chart-topping chanteuse and Rock Island native Lissie.

Bluegrass, funk, roots, and plenty of rock will be on tap, and in the great outdoors, when the area rockers of The Dawn host the fourth-annual Dawn & On Music Festival, the eagerly awaited July 7 event outside Len Brown's North Shore Inn boasting food and beverage vendors, arts & crafts, and nine exhilarating concert sets by lauded local and national acts.