Double-platinum-selling musicians whose smash hits from the '90s include As Ugly as They Wanna Be and America's Least Wanted, the hard rockers of Ugly Kid Joe headline a May 22 concert event at East Moline venue The Rust Belt, their 2022 album Rad Wings of Destiny inspiring Tom Cornell of CGCM Rock Radio to rave, "Showing perhaps more subtlety than all those years ago, but still maintaining the fun and silliness in small doses, they still know how to rock and entertain."

Touring in support of their 2022 release that, according to No Depression, proves the band's "otherworldly qualities" make them "the quirkiest sound around," blues, rock, and pop ensemble The Claudettes headline a May 19 concert at Davenport's Redstone Room, with Americana Highways stating that in The Claudettes Go Out!, "Their tight approach to varied musical genres is adorned with no gimmicks, nothing superficial, and everything suited to inspiring melodies and spirited lyrics."

Lauded by NPR for his "witty and insightful songs" totally more than 1,000 to date, Americana singer/songwriter Dan Bern headlines a May 20 concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, suggesting why, as NPR continued, many consider him "the next Bob Dylan," adding the the artist is "rapidly becoming the voice of a new generation of folk music."

Covering a decade of musical eras ranging from the British Invasion to Woodstock, and a variety of styles including pop, psychedelia, and girl groups, the touring sensations of Shindig! A Tribute to the '60s bring their popular stage performance to Maquoketa's Ohnward Fine Arts Center on May 20, taking patrons on an entertaining trip back to one of the greatest and most diverse decades in the history of rock.

Before seeing Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, I wondered, as I always do with these sorts of “finales” to long-running franchises, how difficult it was going to be to review Marvel Studios' latest without diving into spoiler territory. Thankfully, though, most of writer/director James Gunn's trilogy-ender can be easily discussed without addressing significant plot twists or which of our eccentric world-savers, if any, fail to make it to the end credits. It turns out the stuff that bothered me, which was about 80 percent of GotGV3, is right there in the open.

I must begin with an apology and a confession. Sorry to my British Literature professor in college: I never read Jane Austen's Sense & Sensibility, nor did I read her Pride & Prejudice. If you were generous, you could say I skimmed. But it’s okay (at least for me), because the most recent production at the Playcrafters Barn Theatre is so good, it makes me regret being a negligent student.

Performing nationally in support of his most recent album Alone Together, Again – a recording that inspired Tinnitist to state that "the lyric content and music content of every song catches the senses of the listener and creates excitement – Dave Mason brings his "Endangered Species Tour 2023" to Davenport's Adler Theatre on May 17, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-r noted for his venerable solo career and his co-founding of legendary rock ensemble Traffic.

On May 13, the Quad City Symphony Orchestra invites family audiences to “Be Our Guest!” and experience an animated Disney classic like never before, with the ensemble and conductor Ernesto Estigarribia proudly presenting Disney's Beauty & the Beast in Concert, the Oscar-winning masterpiece enjoying a big-screen showing at Davenport's Adler Theatre alongside live accompaniment by the ensemble's thrilling musical talents.

Headlining a May 18 concert co-presented by Rocktown Entertainment Group, West Coast hip-hop and rap artist Bizzy Bone of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony plays Davenport's Redstone Room in support of his newest release I’m Busy, an 18 track recording featuring the contributions of his sons Lil Bizzy and YBL Sinatra.