Performing a salute to the legendary Americana/country musicians who have amassed five Grammy Awards, two Academy of Country Music Awards, and three Country Music Association Awards, the Nashville-based River City Boys headline a July 15 concert event at Maquoketa's Ohnward Fine Arts Center, delivering highlights from a 47-year career in A Tribute to the Statlers 2002 Farewell Concert.

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If you’re finding yourself sick of the heat and air-quality alerts of 2023, then boy oh boy does Countryside Community Theatre have a cool '80s throwback treat for you: their current production of Footloose.

From its introductory 20 minutes involving an impressively de-aged Harrison Ford to the joyously ludicrous finale that's capped by a quiet emotional whopper, I think I had more fun at this fourth followup that at any previous post-1981 Indy outing. While these may still be leftovers from a decadently delicious meal, they're intensely tasty ones re-heated to just the right temperature.

Senate President Don Harmon told Public Radio talk-show host Brian Mackey in late June that some of the most prominent business association leaders had “punched us in the nose” after the Senate Democrats devised what he called a “good-faith solution” to solve problems created by the state’s super-controversial Biometric Information Privacy Act. Harmon also claimed the Senate Democratic proposal the business groups attacked was “very friendly to the business community that has been asking for these changes.”

Disparate works by a trio of intensely gifted artists will be collectively showcased in the newest Quad City Arts exhibition at the Quad City International Airport Gallery, with the Moline airport, through August 29, boasting paper sculpture by Jocelyn Châteauvert of Mount Vernon, Iowa, landscape paintings by Douglas Johnson of Normal, Illinois, and oil paintings by Barbara Basia Krol of Galesburg, Illinois.

With its delightful assemblage of songs including “Fins,” “Volcano,” “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” and the iconic "Margaritaville," the Jimmy Buffett celebration Escape to Margaritaville enjoys a debut run at Rock Island's Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse July 12 through September 9, this uplifting musical stage treat lauded by the Hollywood Reporter as "the theatrical equivalent of sipping on a frozen drink while lying on a beach chair in the blazing sun."

The United Nations recently released its directive calling for a worldwide collaboration to link individual bank accounts to global digital IDs.This is one more critical element to be implemented for the U.N.'s proposed Central Bank Digital Currency (CDBC). But understand this: CDBDs are not currencies. Calling it a currency is a deliberately misleading name, designed to misdirect people from what it really is: a Central Bank Unified Ledger (CBUL) that is programmable.

[The following is a transcription of AM in the Morning host Aaron Dail's recent interview with museum curator Fanny Curtat, whose Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience is at the Davenport RiverCenter through July 20. Portions of the interview have been lightly edited for clarity. Listen to the full interview here.]

On Sunday evening, May 28, 2023, six stories of the west wall of the building known as The Davenport at 324 Main Street in downtown Davenport collapsed. Three people lost their lives in the tragedy. There is much controversy about city inspections, accountability and the building's owner Andrew Wold. Numerous lawsuits are in play. The building was originally a hotel built in 1907, had more than 50 tenants renting at the time of the collapse, and has since been demolished. Below, we publish the updates the city of Davenport chief strategy officer Sarah Ott issued to local and national media, in the order in which they were released.

Agatha Beiderbecke asked a close family friend, Albert Petersen, to listen to her seven-year-old son play the piano. According to the biography Bix, Man and Legend, Petersen could hardly contain his enthusiasm. “Agatha, this boy has something.” He said. “Keep me informed about his progress – and whatever you do, get him some piano lessons.” One might expect a friend – and her cousin’s husband – to be encouraging. But Petersen was also one of Davenport’s leading musicians, bandleaders, and teachers. He also began his career in music at a young age.

At Moline's Prospect Park Auditorium from July 7 through 16, family audiences are invited to follow the yellow brick road toward a magical stage treat in Quad City Music Guild's new production of The Wizard of Oz, a delightful stage adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s beloved tale that features the beloved musical score from the MGM film and unforgettable songs including "If I Only Had a Brain," "Ding Dong, the Witch Is Dead," and, of course, the iconic "Over the Rainbow."

One of the most stunning classical works in the entire William Shakespeare canon, the tragic masterpiece Othello enjoys a July 8 through 16 run at Rock Island's Lincoln Park, this timeless tale of race, passion, jealousy, and revenge being produced by Genesius Guild for the first time since 2004.

Praised by the Star-Ledger as "a sharp, entertaining look at the agonies and ecstasies of making theater today" and by the New York Daily News as a musical that "has far more savvy and soul than a few flashier shows combined," [title of show] makes its area debut with a July 6 through 15 run at Moline's Black Box Theatre, this Tony-nominated hit also lauded by the Associated Press as "a slyly funny yet surprisingly sweet-tempered look at following your dreams and remaining true to yourself."

Reviewing Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie in the New York Times, Ben Brantley asked, “How can something be this delicate and this strong, so elusive and yet so tenacious?” Those qualities are sure to be in force when this enduring, Tony Award-winning classic enjoys its July 7 through 15 run at Black Hawk College Theatre, the Moline venue graciously housing this Mockingbird at Main production after the devastating building collapse of late-May.

Making its eagerly awaited July 13 through 15 return, the 43rd Walcott Truckers Jamboree at the Iowa 80 Truck Stop will showcase more than 175 exhibits, displays, games, cookouts, fireworks, local and national country and rock musicians, and even a beauty contest for trucks in celebration of America's big rigs and those who drive them.

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.

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