An intimidating ogre, a feisty princess, a wisecracking donkey, a diminutive tyrant, an ambulatory gingerbread man, and other fantastical figures take over Maquoketa's Ohnward Fine Arts Center when gifted youths present August 3 and 4 performances of Shrek the Musical Jr., a one-act version of the Tony-winning fairytale slapstick based on the Oscar-winning animated smash, the show hailed by USA Today as “a triumph of comic imagination with a heart as big and warm as Santa's.”

Currently touring in support of his 2023 release Automatic, the artist's first album of original material in five years, the widely adored musician, actor, and daytime-drama icon Rick Springfield takes the stage at Davenport's Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center on July 27, the chart-topping rock singer/songwriter a longtime fan favorite for hits including "Affair of the Heart," "Love Somebody," and the Grammy Award-winning "Jessie's Girl."

On July 31, this year's Mississippi Valley Fair brings with it grandstand performances by a pair of Billboard-charting talents in Koe Wetzel and Priscilla Block, the former an acclaimed country rocker whose top-10 hits include this year's "Sweet Dreams" and "High Road" (featuring Jessie Murph), and the latter of whose country-pop song "Just About Over You" went viral on TikTok, reaching Nashville music executives who signed her to Mercury Nashville.

An eagerly awaited weekend of live performances returning to the Quad Cities for the 53rd time, the Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival will, from August 1 through 3, again enjoy residency at the Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center. For 2024, the Davenport venue will host performances by eight local and national jazz acts: Chicago Cellar Boys; El Dorado Jazz Band; Graystone Monarchs; Mike Davis' New Wonders; Paul Asaro & His Rhythm; T.J. Muller's Jazz-O-Maniacs; The Dooley Band; and the Bix Youth Jazz Band.