A gifted composer and pianist, longtime area-theatre reviewer, and staunch advocate of the local art scene will be the featured guest in the Community Connections series when the Bettendorf Public Library hosts a January 19 program with Jonathan Turner, who will be your knowledgeable, friendly guide as he discusses experiences worth sharing in his recently published book 100 Things to Do in the Quad Cities Before You Die.

Delivering what the British Theatre Guide deemed "lashings of energy" and "spectacle worthy of a rock video," the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse will treat patrons to an audience with the Queen – or rather, simply Queen – in the imaginative musical revue We Will Rock You, a January 18 through March 11 celebration of the legendary rock and pop band boasting two dozen timeless hits including “Another One Bites the Dust,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “We Are the Champions,” “Somebody to Love,” and the iconic title tune.

In the Figge Art Museum's current Film at the Figge series, the Davenport venue is screening international, award-winning works that deal with death, loss, and grief in unexpected ways, and the affecting and arresting lineup continues on January 19 with It's Only the End of the World, Xavier Dolan's award-winning French-Canadian drama lauded by The Guardian as a "brilliant, stylized, and hallucinatory evocation of family dysfunction."

On January 15, no fewer than 17 gifted Midwestern musicians will perform at Bettendorf's Rivermont Collegiate as featured guests in Polyrhythms' Third Sunday Jazz Series, with Mike Conrad & the Iowa Jazz Composers Orchestra proving that jazz lovers don’t need to look to New York City or Chicago for beautiful, creative, high-quality music.

Before composing my annual list of adored movies from the past year, I gave serious thought to continuing the presentation I initiated in the first year of COVID, with write-ups on 20 favorites from 2020 followed by 21 favorites from 2021. Certainly, there were 22 winners from 2022 to emphatically celebrate, yes? Well … yes and no.

With the ensemble currently boasting Walter “Clyde” Orange, James Dean “J.D.” Nicholas, and William “WAK” King alongside their five-piece band The Mean Machine, the legendary funk and soul outfit The Commodores bring their “Greatest Hits Tour” to Davenport's Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center on January 8, treating crowds to a beloved repertoire that includes the chart-topping ballads “Easy,” “Still,” and the immortal “Three Times a Lady.”

Praised by Music Review Roulette for possessing "one of the most beautiful female voices we have heard in a long time," folk, country, and Americana singer/songwriter Genevieve Heyward headlines a January 12 concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, the rising star lauded by Americana-UK for her "lilting vocals, sharply clever lyrics, and a distinctly country hued musicality that should be able to win over both traditional and more modern fans of the genre alike."

Composed of lead vocalist on guitar, Mike Petrasek on bass, and Joe Kus on drums, the hard-rocking tribute artists of Smells Like Nirvana play a January 6 headlining engagement at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, celebrating the legendary sounds of Nirvana and Kurt Cobain through smash hits, B-sides, rare songs, and more from albums including Nevermind, In Utero, and Bleach.

With the Washington Post calling his latest book “a gift that's meant to be shared” and Publishers Weekly insisting "this resonant, vivid meditation shouldn’t be missed," a bestselling essaying and award-winning poet takes center stage in Inciting Joy: A Conversation with Ross Gay, a virtual January 11 conversation with the Inciting Joy author made possible by Illinois Libraries Present, and hosted by the Rock Island and Moline Public Libraries.