If Halloween is approaching, it must be time for that annual theatrical command: “Let's do the 'Time Warp' again!” Consequently, the Circa '21 Speakeasy will stage its eighth-annual presentation of the cult-musical smash The Rocky Horror Show from October 20 through 29, treating audiences to live performances of classic songs in this nutty, interactive experience that has been delighting show regulars and virgins alike for more than half a century.

To download a PDF of the puzzle, click here.

Governor JB Pritzker and House Speaker Chris Welch both threw cold water on the idea of a veto session supplemental-appropriations bill to help Chicago handle the increasing influx of asylum-seekers from Venezuela. Speaker Welch told reporters last Thursday he had “made it clear” to Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson that “we were not expecting to do a supplemental budget in the veto session,” while the governor told reporters the week before that he hadn’t heard about any plans for a supplemental. Governors always know about supplementals because their office writes them.

One of the most successful arena-rock groups of the 1970s and '80s brings their national tour to Davenport's Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center with the eagerly awaited October 20 performance by Jefferson Starship, the venerable act that has amassed three platinum- and eight gold-selling records, plus numerous Top 40 smashes including "Runaway," "Count on Me," "Find Your Way Back," and "No Way Out."

Performing a special afternoon concert in advance of the Quad City Storm's opening-night hockey game, country-music star and Grammy Award nominee Eric Paslay will play an outdoor set at Moline's Vibrant Arena at the MARK on October 21, the artist's Billboard-charting hits including “Friday Night,” “Song About a Girl,” and “She Don't Love You.”

A special fundraising event designed to benefit the Quad City Symphony Orchestra's educational programs, the October 21 Soirée: Shaken, Not Stirred will treat guests to an elegant evening at Davenport's Figge Art Museum, the night boasting a cocktail hour, dinner, paddle raise, and live auction with QCSO Maestro Mark Russell Smith, plus performances by symphony members Emily Nash, Hannah Holman, and Marian Lee.

With Under the Radar calling her latest album Lighten Up "a warm, quirky, and heavily atmospheric concoction, richly-textured and poetically potent," folk-pop singer/songwriter Erin Rae headlines an October 22 concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, the artist inspiring Rolling Stone to rave that "her arrangements – anchored by pedal-steel guitar and the steady strum of an acoustic guitar – may be rooted in modern-day indie folk, but the songs themselves rustle up comparisons to Joni Mitchell and Jackson Browne."

For their first performance of the 2023-24 season, Galesburg's professional vocal ensemble the Nova Singers will explore one of the most complex and beautiful of human emotions in their October 21 and 22 performances of We Are Love, enabling audiences to experience the exhilaration of young love, the comfort of mature love, the longing for a love who is far away, love of home, love of one’s art, and the power of unconditional love to transform our world.

With smash pop and rock hits performed by the intensely gifted tribute artist Brian Harris and his five-piece ensemble The Mad Hatters Band, the repertoires of two iconic artists will be celebrated at Mt. Carroll's Timber Lake Playhouse on October 21, with the stage event The Piano Men: Simply Billy & Simply Elton delivering a night of incredible music and showmanship by two of history's most venerable and beloved talents.