Presenting an intimate, “in the round” evening of seated artists performing in close proximity with their audience, Davenport's Redstone Room, on March 30, hosts a special “Songs and Stories” program with a trio of talented singer/songwriters: R&B and soul musician Alicia Michilli from Detroit, Michigan; Americana artist Shannon LaBrie from Detroit, Michigan; and folk, rock, and country virtuoso David G. Smith, a native of the Quad Cities' neighboring Blue Grass, Iowa.

Is there any stronger gauge of movie stardom than the ability to singlehandedly redeem an otherwise unworthy film?

Wonders of nature and conveniences of modern locomotive travel will both be celebrated in the latest “World Aventure Series” presentations at the Putnam Museum & Science Center, with the Davenport venue hosting two March 19 screenings of Doug Jones' documentary The Great Canadian Train Ride followed by presentations with special guest Sandy Mortimer.

Called “one of the top-tier performers of soul and blues music” by Blues Blast magazine and “a strong songwriter and performer with magnetic stage presence” by Elmore, Blues Music Award winner John Németh takes the stage at Davenport's Redstone Room on March 21 in support of his most recent album Feelin' Freaky, a work BluesMatters.com described as “a superb, eclectic, easy-listening release by a man at the top of his game.”

A pair of lauded blues-rock collectives out of the Midwest share co-headliner duties at the Redstone Room on March 22, as the Davenport venue hosts one night with two top-tier ensembles: the Chicago-based talents of The Steepwater Band and the Omaha natives of Nebraska's Kris Lager Band.

Lauded by Living Blues magazine as “21st Century blues at its best,” the Memphis-based artists of the Ghost Town Blues Band perform a March 24 concert at the Moline Viking Club presented by the Mississippi Valley Blues Society, treating audiences to the soulful, electrifying effects of, as Living Blues stated, “what can happen when the past is distilled through young sensibilities, voices, and instruments.”

A cold chill ran through the Playcrafters Barn Theatre at Friday's opening-night performance of Arthur Miller's 1953 play The Crucible; a riveting, partially fictionalized story about the hysteria that took place during the Salem Witch Trials in the Puritan town of Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1692. A group of young women are accused of casting spells, communing with the dead, and putting curses on children. The subsequent Salem Witch Trials, meanwhile, consisted of depositions, legal proceedings, hearsay, evidence (or lack thereof), and religious leaders of the day investigating alleged heresy and evil-doings involving the practices of witchcraft and black magic. Director Patti Flaherty delivered a provocative and captivating production that kept you interested and on the edge of your seat.

Democrats often propose ideas that take forever to explain and are often difficult for the masses to understand. That wasn't the case last week.