With his compositions praised by Beatroute as "gnawing and building and growing in strength, crushing you like the weight of ice," composer, improvisor, and multi-instrumentalist V. Vecker headlines a March 7 OUTLETProgramme event at Rock Island venue Rozz-Tox, the artist performing music that makes you, per Beatroute, "feel trapped until the sweet release of melancholy pulls you under – the calm after the squall."

Praised by WhartonPlazaTheatre.com for its "rousing musical numbers, hilarious social commentary, and heavenly harmony," the feel-good, foot-stomping, country-music sensation Honky Tonk Angels enjoys a March 11 through April 25 run at Rock Island's Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse, RochesterMedia.com adding, "To paraphrase a well-known movie quote: Is this heaven? No. It’s Honky Tonk Angels. Welcome to heaven on earth.”

A wide range of disparate mediums and gorgeous artworks will be on display at the Quad City Arts International Airport Gallery through April 27, with art lovers area-wide invited to view new metal and fiber sculpture by Amanda Langer, encaustics by Cindy Lesperance, and Japanese tiles by Nick Schroeder in the exhibit Langer, Lesperance, & Schroeder.

Amethyst cathedrals, diamonds, Lake Superior agates, opals, geodes, and additionally beautiful objects will be on view at the University of Dubuque's Bisignano Art Gallery through March 20, with works in the fascinating exhibition Rocks, Minerals, & Gems: The Olsen Collection spanning five-plus decades of curiosity, craftsmanship, and global exploration.

Beloved for his 1996 to 2003 tenure on Saturday Night Live, where he was best-known for characters including Mango, Mr Peepers, and one of the Butabi brothers opposite Will Ferrell, Chris Kattan performs as the latest guest in the "Laugh QC" Thursday Night Comedy Series held in the Mississippi Hall of the Davenport RiverCenter, the comedian's March 12 engagement treating fans to a night (at the Roxbury) with one of SNL's longest-serving cast members.

Patrons of the German American Heritage Center are invited to discover the history of one of the world's most recognizable dolls – and how she evolved from a comic for adult men in Germany (!) – in Barbie: An All-American Girl?, with Putnam Museum and Science Center Curator of History and Anthropology Christina Kastell leading a fascinating March 8 program in the Davenport venue's popular "Kaffee und Kuchen" series.

As expected, we did not see a whole lot of spending increases in Governor JB Pritzker’s state budget proposal last week. Last year, Pritzker said his budget limited discretionary spending to less than a one percent increase. The plan unveiled last week limits discretionary spending to less than a half a point increase.

Celebrating their sixth decade of professional performance, and with accomplishments including chart-topping success, tens of millions in album sales, and 2000 induction in the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, the rockers of Three Dog Night play Davenport's Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center on February 28, their repertoire including such timeless hits as “Mama Told Me (Not to Come),” “Black and White,” and the iconic “Joy to the World.”

Traveling the country in support of their 2025 release For the People, an album in which, according to Kerrang!, "the Celtic punk legends are in reeling, anthem-filled form, bolstered by their trademark gang vocal hooks," the Boston-based rockers of Dropkick Murphys bring their "For the People in the Pit St. Patrick’s Day 2026 Tour" to East Moline venue The Rust Belt on March 5, the group's latest release also lauded by TheRazorsEdge.rocks as "driving punk rock, run through with a huge amount of Irish green."