Composed of lead vocalist Paul Wandtke on guitar, Mike Petrasek on bass, and Joe Kus on drums, the hard-rocking tribute artists of Smells Like Nirvana play a January 25 headlining engagement at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, celebrating the legendary sounds of Nirvana and Kurt Cobain through smash hits, B-sides, rare songs, and more from albums including Nevermind, In Utero, and Bleach.

Touring in support of their 2024 album Mudglimmer, a recording whose title track was lauded by Flood magazine as "a patient and unyielding jazz-funk-rock exercise landing somewhere between Tortoise and Pavement," the indie artists of The Slaps headline a January 29 engagement at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, the group's 2022 album Tomato Tree additionally hailed by Under the Radar as "showcasing the band’s winding instrumental sprawl and effortless chemistry."

Held in honor of his birth on January 27, 1756, Moline's Sound Conservatory will, 269 years later, host a special anniversary event in January 25's Mozart: A Birthday Celebration Performance, an unforgettable evening filled with breathtaking performances by violinist Archana Wagle, cellist Alex Gilson, clarinetist Rob Miller, pianist Andrzej Kozlowski, and baritone Nathan Windt.

Four distinct, up-and-coming Midwestern acts will share one night of indie entertainment at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, with the venue hosting individual sets with Joytrip, Baron von Future, Calculated, and Nobletiger on January 30.

Delivering an exhilarating timeline of country music from the 1960s to the '90s, the Midwestern tribute artists of The Cowtippers headline a January 25 concert event at Maquoketa's Ohnward Fine Arts Center, covering smash hits from four decades sure to inspire loads of wonderful memories in fans of the genre.

Designed to offer the magical chance to see our national symbol in its natural habitat, the third-annual LeClaire Eagle Festival sponsored in part by the Riverboat Twilight will, on January 18 and 19, treat visitors to live eagle demonstrations and educational presentations, as well as opportunities to spot bald eagles in their natural habitat high above the Mississippi River.

Presented as part of the Davenport venue's popular Kaffee und Kuchen series, an in-person and online program on one of the most horrific tragedies in Iowa history - one that took place just over 75 years ago - will take place in The St. Elizabeth Fire, with Bret Grimes, the Bettendorf-based author of The St. Elizabeth Hospital Fire in Iowa, leading the January 26 discussion at the Herman American Heritage Center.

A lauded selection at 2024 events including the DC Environmental Film Festival, the New York African Film Festival, and SXSW EDU, director Mark Decena's Farming While Black serves as the second presentation in this year's QC Environmental Film Series hosted by River Action, its January 26 presentation at Davenport's Figge Art Museum treating patrons to what Civil Eats deemed "a unique and enthralling perspective on an often overlooked aspect of the American dream.”

A thrilling adaptation of Sophocles’ play Philoctetes by celebrated Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney, The Cure at Troy serves as the first 2025 production at Iowa City's Riverside Theatre, the show's January 30 through February 9 run treating audiences to what Broad Street Review deemed "a rousing exploration of how our dark impulses threaten to shatter the soul – and how the light of compassion can temper our baser urges."

With its performers the latest guests in Quad City Arts' Visiting Artist Series, the children's-book adaptation Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch enjoys a special January 30 presentation at the Rock Island Public Library's Watts-Midtown Branch, this beautiful, funny, and touching short play with puppets imagined for the stage by Axis Theatre’s artistic director Chris McGregor.

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