An Elizabethan classic that spans numerous genres and offers its actors a wide variety of complex and thrilling roles, William Shakespeare's Antony & Cleopatra enjoys a July 12 through 20 run in the great outdoors of Rock Island's Lincoln Park, this meaty and juicy entertainment having previously lured to the stage the legendary likes of Laurence Olivier, Vivien Leigh, John Gielgud, Vanessa Redgrave, Anthony Hopkins, and Judi Dench.

Praised by Variety magazine for its “charming score that suits the quirky material” and Time Out NY for its “expertly constructed and emotionally satisfying tale of self-liberation in the face of limited options,” the Broadway sensation Waitress enjoys a July 11 through 27 run at Mt. Carroll's Timber Lake Playhouse, serving up an evening of comedy, drama, romance, and Sara Bareilles compositions that made NBC New York rave, “It's easy as pie to fall for Waitress.”

With the New York Times stating that "the shining achievement of the musical is its winsome country and bluegrass score," and USA Today lauding the book "that's as forthright as it is smart, funny and charming," collaborators Steve Martin's and Edie Brickell's Tony-nominated Bright Star continues the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre's summer season, its July 17 through 27 run treating patrons to a musical treat that Stage & Cinema called "full of unforced goodness and rewarded risk-taking."

Honoring 25 years of creativity, mentorship, and youth expression through Quad City Arts' Metro Arts Youth Apprenticeship Program, the 2025 Metro Arts Showcase will be held at Davenport's Figge Art Museum on July 15, the night celebrating the organization that has empowered young creatives through approximately 113 community-based projects including murals, mosaics, films, and more.

With the exhibition made possible through generous funding from Art Bridges Foundation, and with KLJB FOX 18 serving as media sponsor, the fascinating collaborative exhibit CHAIN RE·AC·TION will be celebrated at Davenport's Figge Art Museum on July 17, with community partners, mural artists. and the public joining together in conjunction with the art experience's continuous cycle of inspiration, reflection, and response.

With his June recording Broken Branches hailed by Cryptic Rock as "phenomenal from top to bottom," singing/songwriting superstar and Grand Ole Opry member Dierks Bentley performs a July 5 engagement in the 2025 John Deere Classic's "Concerts on the Course" series, the artist's studio albums accounting for 27 singles on Billboard's Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts, 18 of which reached number one.

Multi-platinum-selling artists with three chart-topping albums to their credit, the country and Southern-rock sensations of the Zac Brown Band play a July 6 engagement in the 2025 John Deere Classic's "Concerts on the Course" series, treating fans to a repertoire that has thus far resulted in nine Grammy Award nominations, three wins, and more than a dozen number-one hits on the Billboard charts.

Performing in support of their 2024 release Shoot the Moon, and treating music lovers to what Glide magazine calls their “inexplicable way of giving old-time blues and jazz a fresh, contemporary feel,” the touring musicians of Davina & the Vagabonds headline a July 10 concert event at Davenport's Redstone Room, their latest album praised by KAXE radio as "catchy and hopeful with the group's usual dose of fun, while also a bit more up-front about the complexity of life."

Praised by American Blues Scene for delivering "a full-throttle dose of rhythm & blues" with "introspection and grace," the touring artists of Jackson & the Janks headline a 4th of July concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, Holler Country Music adding, "With their New Orleans-inspired take on the protogenic power of rhythm & blues, the band uses early rock & roll as a loose template and turns it on its head."

With the group's most recent album Home in the Desert hailed by the Chicago Reader for its "tranquil warmth" that "calms and comforts like a hearty stew on a winter evening," the touring shoegaze musicians of Precocious Neophyte headline a July 5 concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, the Chicago ensemble's 2024 EP also praised by PM Press Blog as a recording that "hits like a dream pop avalanche."

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