Delivering a blend of local history, environmental issues, education, entertainment, and fresh air, Davenport's River Action will again present a series of outdoor presentations in the second month of the annual Channel Cat Talks and Riverine Walks: weekly programs that, from July 11 through 29, will address such topics as eco-roofs, Monarch butterflies, the history of the Arsenal Island, and those fascinating birds known as pelicans.

Chart-topping, award-winning musicians who recently celebrated their 30th year of international touring, the alternative rockers of Collective Soul headline a July 13 concert at Davenport Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center, the group's number-one hits from their 11-album repertoire including “Heavy,” “Where the River Flows,” “Listen,” and their 1994 breakthrough “Shine.”

One of the Quad Cities' most eagerly anticipated day-long festivals returns on July 8 in the eighth iteration of the Dawn & On Music Festival, with the area musicians of The Dawn hosting bluegrass, funk, roots, reggae, and plenty of rock in nine exhilarating concert sets – from nine much-admired local and regional acts – held in Rock Island's Schwiebert Riverfront Park.

Currently touring in their 23rd year of performance, the rock and metal tribute artists of Hairball headline an July 7 concert at Rock Island's Bally's Quad Cities, with the high-energy Minnesota musicians paying tribute to iconic bands Van Halen, KISS, Mötley Crüe, Queen, Journey, Aerosmith, and more.

Described by the Examiner as “a band unlike any other” and by Blurt magazine as “a hybrid of Idris Muhammad, George Clinton, Ohio Players, and Earth, Wind & Fire,” the tightly-wrapped funk, rock, and R&B musicians of Here Come the Mummies headline a July 8 concert at Maquoketa's Codfish Hollow Barn, their infectious grooves leading The Bob & Tom Show co-host Bob Kevoian to call one of their concerts “the most fun I've had in 20 years.”

With their 2022 album debut Bummer Year boasting, according to Glide magazine, "a rich collection of songs" that "showcase strong songwriting and alt-folk rocking," the indie rockers and Texas natives of Good Looks headline a July 11 concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, their first recording also praised by Atwood magazine as "a fun and spirited rock record that welcomes respect and repeat listens."

Touring in support of their 2022 release Right On, an album that Holler Country said "breathes fresh life into an outfit looking to expand boundaries while maintaining its core musical mojo," the touring rockers of Banditos headline a July 13 concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, their latest recording a work in which, according to No Depression, "Banditos’ members have their own musical moments before shifting into a beautiful electric guitar interlude and final build that makes stars of them all."

A trio of Midwestern artists working in a trio of artistic mediums will be displaying gorgeous new works at the Quad City Arts Center through August 11, with the Rock Island venue showcasing photography by Robin Bailey of Rolling Meadows, Illinois, oil paintings and ceramic sculpture by Janis Mars Wunderlich of Monmouth, Illinois, and oil paintings by Lee White of Muscatine, Iowa.

Insight into the iconic cartoonist responsible for Charlie Brown, Lucy Van Pelt, Snoopy, and the rest of the lovable Peanuts gang will be offered in a special Figge Art Museum program on July 13, with the Davenport venue celebrating its current exhibit The Life & Art of Charles M. Schulz with a Curator Talk featuring Benjamin Clark, curator at the Charles M. Schulz Museum & Research Center in Santa Rosa, California.

Lauded by London Theatre as "a feel-good ‘fish out of water’ musical that easily takes the audience on to a great journey of good songs, optimism, and fun," the exuberant stage version of the classic '80s movie Footloose serves as the opener to Countryside Community Theatre's 2023 season, its June 30 to July 9 engagement at Eldridge's North Scott High School Fine Arts Auditorium sure to demonstrate why the show received four 1999 Tony nominations and enjoyed a New York run of more than 700 performances.

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