On April 25, guests of Davenport's Figge Art Museum are invited to enjoy an early "Last Chance" exhibition tour for the venue's popular Peter Xiao: A Room That One Is In (And All Things In It), an installation of arresting paintings by our area's beloved, longtime Augustana College Professor of Art and the college's Paul A. Anderson Chair in the Arts.

Where Anthony Minghella's The Talented Mr. Ripley adaptation was luscious, passionate, and emotional, Steven Zaillian's Ripley is chilly, controlled, and cerebral – an entertainment for the head rather than the heart. But yowza did this thing make my head spin. Not for nothing, but at least once per episode, it also made me laugh my ass off.

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services has been a very big state problem for a very long time. The department now has new leadership under Director Heidi Mueller, whose appointment was met with widespread praise. The former director of the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice was confirmed by the Senate without a single “No” vote last month, minutes before I interviewed her.

A wonderfully funny and moving solo performance designed to make audiences question how preconceived notions about disability can blur the truth, writer/actor Aaron Pang's autobiographical Herein Lies the Truth enjoys its world-premiere staging at Iowa City's Riverside Theatre April 18 through 28, its author a University of Iowa MFA nonfiction candidate who will relate the story of how an accident changed the trajectory of his life.

Two legendary rock outfits will share one Moline stage on April 13 with the eagerly awaited arrival of "The Sharp Dressed Simple Man Tour," which will deliver an unforgettable night of classic hits by two bands enshrined in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Lynyrd Skynyrd and ZZ Top.

Lauded by the Chicago Reader as a talent who "makes meaningful, seamless connections, rigorously integrating disparate styles so they make musical sense," award winning Palestinian-American composer, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist Wanees Zarour will perform three area concerts as the latest guest in Quad City Arts' Visiting Artist series, his styles praised for transcending borders and drawing from traditions spanning the entire globe.

Currently touring in support of the second part of their three-part opus Spinning the Truth Around, a 2022 album that Sputnik Music called "a powerful new statement from a seasoned band," the alternative rockers of Blue October will headline an April 14 concert event as East Moline venue The Rust Belt, their repertoire of more than a quarter-century boasting 17 top-40 singles and such chart-topping studio albums as Any Man in America, Sway, and Home.

Offering up-and-coming musicians the chance to elevate their lyrical and musical skill sets while connecting with fellow music enthusiasts, Davenport's Common Chord will host the songwriting workshop Eat, Sleep, Songwriter, Repeat on April 13, with valuable tips, tricks, and methods delivered by Nashville talent Ryan Bizarri, the co-writer of Rodney Atkins' hit single "Eat Sleep Love You Repeat."

Delivering songs about flowers, trees, mountains, and animals, as well as a call for rain to soothe a thirsty earth, Galesburg's professional vocal ensemble the Nova Singers concludes their 2023-24 season with two performances of Mother Earth, a beautiful repertoire of selections being performed at Galesburg's First Lutheran Church on April 13 and Davenport's St. Paul Lutheran Church on April 14.