With 28 Years Later, we appear to be exiting the realm of realism and entering the land of the mythic, and I'm not sure that, inspiration-wise, trading George A, Romero for J.R.R. Tolkien is any kind of upgrade.

There are three main villains from childhood fiction that still occasionally haunt my nightmares – my terror trifecta, if you will: the Child Catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Barnaby from Babes in Toyland, and Miss Viola Swamp from Miss Nelson Is Missing! So naturally, I was both excited and terrified when I took my seat at the Playcrafters Barn Theatre.

T Green's and Calvin Vo's production hooked me from the start – the performers are lively, fully present, and engaged in their scenes, and usually moved and spoke naturally, with excellent projection and diction.

Delivering a sure-to-be-unforgettable night of timeless rock hits, the touring artists of Styx and the Kevin Cronin Band – the latter outfit fronted by REO Speedwagon's former lead vocalist – co-headline a July concert event at Moline's Vibrant Arena at the MARK, with, in addition to other hits, the artists performing two albums in their entirety: Styx's The Grand Illusion, and REO Speedwagon's Hi Infidelity.

With Pitchfork declaring the artist's 2024 recording We Belong "an exuberant new album" that "rejoices in the power of Black diasporic identity and community," progressive-rock and Sudanese-pop musician Sinkane headlines a July 2 concert event at Davenport's Redstone Room, Pitchfork adding that "glittering with disco lights and showered with confetti, We Belong is a radiant homage to Black music and Black people."

Treating audiences to heartland Americana steeped in an amalgamation of country and rock, and lyrically swinging from bluegrass to the blues, Logan Springer & the Wonderfully Wild perform on the rooftop of Davenport venue The Last Picture House on June 28. The event is being presented as part of the 2025 Big 9 Concert Series (sponsored by the City of Davenport and Common Chord) bringing live music to downtown hotspots and riverfront parks that highlight Davenport’s nine miles of Mississippi riverfront.

Touring in support of their February release Soul Searching, which the Austin Chronicle hailed for its "jaw-dropping anecdotes, 200 years of family timeline, and palpable musicality," the Texas-based talents of Tomar & the FCs headline a June 28 concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, The Alternate Root adding that the group's latest soul album "tags the past with the same love for the sound that filled recording studio in Memphis, Muscle Shoals, New York City, Philadelphia, Detroit, and Los Angeles during the genre’s heyday."

On the road in support of their 2024 release In Time, and hailed by Roots n Revelry as a band that "meshes country and Americana with rock music, creating a sound that is both heartfelt and dynamic," the Lowdown Drifters headline a July 2 concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, Roots n Revelry adding that their latest recording is "refreshingly straightforward, cutting through with a rawness that feels rare and needed in today's Americana scene."

A Quad Cities-based tribute act dedicated to free-spirited and energetic concert experiences from the Stop Making Sense era, the tour de force of musicians known as Heads in Motion plays Bettendorf's The Tangled Wood on June 28, with the 10-piece ensemble celebrating Oscar, Grammy, and Tony Award winner David Byrne and his iconic rock outfit Talking Heads.