A fast-paced world requires a calming influence, and that's what Rock Island's Quad City Arts Center will provide in its new exhibitions of lovely, serene paintings by Brad Bisbey and Holly Kimball and beautiful wood sculptures and furniture by Jay Stratton, on display from February 2 through March 23.

Singer/songwriter John Paul Roney performs a January 26 Moeller Nights concert alongside Andrew Fraser and Aaron Simon in the musicians' experimental-folk outfit Boom Forest, a group whose recent album Post Knight Errant led MXDWN.com to write that Roney's “career should no doubt be watched with great interest,” adding, “No matter which direction Roney chooses to bring the listener, it’s impossible to be disappointed.”

Appearing locally on a national wintertime tour that takes the band from Iowa to Pennsylvania to its headliner's home state of Florida, the blues, funk, soul, and rock artists of JJ Grey & Mofro play Davenport's Redstone Room on January 28, the musicians' most recent album Ol' Glory described by NoDepression.com as a work of “boundless compassion and honesty” and “Grey's finest outing yet.”

Featuring dozens of debuting works in a variety of artistic mediums, the 40th Rock Island Art Guild Fine Arts Exhibition will be on display at the Figge January 27 through March 20, showcasing paintings, sculptures, installations, and more by artists living within a 150-mile radius of the Quad Cities.