Boasting performances from Augustana College faculty members, students, and guest artists, the college's Shockingly Modern Saxophone Festival will, on February 21, treat music lovers to a day's worth of solo and chamber music in an event exploring the nearly unlimited sonic potential of the saxophone through new composition, improvisation, extended performance techniques, microtonality, electronic music, multimedia and other experimental elements.

Presented in celebration of Black History Month, director Bill Duke's acclaimed 2003 drama Deacons for Defense enjoys a special February 18 screening in the Community Room of the Rock Island Public Library's downtown branch, the film's stars including Oscar winner Forest Whitaker and legendary actor and Civil Rights activist Ossie Davis.

Adapted from the iconic book the New York Times deemed an "extraordinary work" and a "document of horrifying reality [that] possesses literary quality," the 1973 television-movie version of Go Ask Alice enjoys a special February 23 screening at the Rock Island Public Library's downtown branch, the film detailing the life of a teenage girl who develops a drug addiction at age 15 and runs away from home on a journey of self-destructive escapism.

As Valentine's Month options go, Shakespeare's tale of thwarted love between a teenage Montague and Capulet is certainly devastatingly romantic. Those aware of its ending know it's also devastating, full stop. Yet as choreographer and Ballet Quad Cities Artistic Director Courtney Lyon understands, feeling bad about doomed love can, in this context, feel awfully darned good.

A veteran standup comic who has worked and toured with famed artists including the cast of Impractical Jokers, comedy hypnotist Doug T performs as the latest guest in the "Laugh QC" Thursday Night Comedy Series held in the Mississippi Hall of the Davenport RiverCenter, his February 26 engagement delivering a raucously fun evening that, unlike other hypnotism shows, doesn’t come at the cost of your compromised dignity.

Presented by the Scottish-American Society of the Quad Cities, an eagerly anticipated evening of traditional pageantry and heritage returns to the Quad Cities in the 48th Robert Burns Night, the February 21 event at Bettendorf's Isle Casino Hotel boasting live music, delicious food, and a celebration of the 225-year-old Scottish tradition honoring Celtic legend Robert Burns.

On February 26, patrons of the Bettendorf Public Library are invited to brings their love of listening, curiosity, and the title of a musical piece they like to the program Music & Mocktails: Know Your Music with Tony Oliver, an interactive session featuring tasty beverages and the Quad City Symphony Orchestra percussionist speaking on rhythm, melody, harmony, and how the three shape your favorite music.

Cited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the planet's “most prolific author of children’s horror novels,” Goosebumps creator R.L. Stine will discuss his illustrious and still-expanding body of work in Still Afraid of the Dark, a virtual February 24 presentation by Illinois Libraries Present being simultaneously hosted by the Rock Island, Silvis, and East Moline Public Libraries.

A hybrid program presented by Suzanne Ondrus, Ph.D in the venue's popular “Kaffee und Kuchen” series, the fascinating true-crime presentation Murder & Mayhem in an 1881 Ohio German Immigrant Family will be delivered at Davenport's German American Heritage Center on February 22, the session's themes of domestic violence that may include emotional, physical, and psychological abuse making discretion advised for patrons.

I had so much fun at Luc Besson's garish vampire yarn that I can easily imagine watching it again, this time with more than the one friend who joined me, and with all of us preferably looped out of our minds. That way, we'd at least come close to approximating Besson's vibe.

Governor JB Pritzker announced a plan last week to “manage Illinois pension commitments through a set of proposals designed to build on the state’s recent fiscal progress and further reduce long-term risk for taxpayers and retirees.” The price tag, however, is already giving one legislative leader pause. And “fiscal progress” is not the reality when factoring in federal funds.

Kitty: In keeping with the feminist theme, the women were the ones driving this show.

Mischa: The three main actresses are all blessed with tremendous singing voices, and each one alternately becomes the center of attention in a series of impressive numbers.

This spring, Iowa will host one of the world’s most recognized Holocaust-era cultural exhibitions as Violins of Hope launches a rare, two-month residency spanning multiple Iowa communities, an opening event for the program taking place at Davenport's Putnam Museum & Science Center on February 17.

Scott County GOP Primary Governor Candidate Forum Eldridge Iowa Jan 22 2026

On January 22, 2026, the Scott and Muscatine GOP county parties co-hosted a 2026 Gubernatorial Primary Candidate Forum live in Eldridge, Iowa. The event was the first of its kind in Iowa's history and the first time any substantive questions were presented to Republican want to be governor candidates in a primary race in more than 20 years.

The next performance of George Frideric Handel’s Messiah at Augustana College will be extra-special for its conductor and performers, as Jon Hurty – the school’s director of choral activities since 1996 – is retiring at the end of this school year. He will lead the classic oratorio on February 22 at 3 p.m. in Augustana College's Centennial Hall.

Iowa Drone Surveillance May Become Warrantless and Admissible as Evidence in a Court of Law

Two rights-crushing bills are currently moving through the Iowa Legislature this session for possible passage and the Governor's signature. The typical lack of concern for Iowans' interest characterizes our faux representative governance in the 21st Century, thanks in large measure to We the People's equally crushing apathy.

Nearly 49 years after first forming, the pop-rock band Toto is still going strong, and brings its national tour to Davenport’s Capitol Theatre on February 19.

Returning to Moline with two spectacular Saturday-evening performances, the live, multi-sensory musical experience known as the Candlelight Concerts series enjoys its latest Quad Cities engagements at the city's First Congregational Church, the February 14 events boasting Tribute to Queen & More at 6:30 p.m. and Valentine's Day Special at 8:30 p.m.

A high-energy ensemble boasting some of the sharpest musical talents the area has to offer, 10 of Soul headlines a February 13 engagement in the Rust Belt's "Winter Jam 2026" concert series, their East Moline set sure to boast classic tunes from the genres of soul, funk, and blues, as well as a few funky arrangements of their own.

Delivering a musical celebration of love under the baton of conductor Dr. Rossana Cauti, the Knox-Galesburg Symphony will present their ode to romance in A Symphonic Valentine, a night of iconic composers and unforgettable compositions taking place at Galesburg's Orpheum Theatre, appropriately, on February 14.

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