The Civic Federation, the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, the Illinois Economic Policy Institute, and the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability recently released a report calling for the expansion of the sales tax to several services, claiming such a move could raise $2 billion for the state.

Based on the kids’ picture book written by Melinda Long and illustrated by David Shannon, this upbeat little musical will leave you practicing your pirate vernacul-arrr and perhaps even wishing to sail the seven seas in pursuit of doubloons.

One hundred and 13 years (minus six days) after making its infamous maiden voyage, a new production of Titanic: The Musical will set sail at Moline's Spotlight Theatre.

An annual fine-art showcase involving students in the Department of Digital Art and Design at the University of Dubuque, The Edge Show is the latest exhibition at the institution's Bisignano Art Gallery, this celebration of dazzling young talent on display through April 9.

Garsh … so many thoughts on a live-action Disney reboot that, in all honesty, is barely worth a single thought. In honor of the support staff whose collective moniker has been dumped from the original Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs title, here are a septet of paragraphs on director Marc Webb's and screenwriter Erin Cressida Wilson's Snow White, accordingly themed to each individual Dwarf.

Appearing locally in his “Rough and Rowdy Ways” World Wide Tour, a genuine legend takes the stage at Davenport's Adler Theatre in its April 8 hosting of the one and only Bob Dylan, the iconic musician and Nobel Prize winner recently chronicled in the Oscar-nominated bio-musical smash A Complete Unknown.

Hailed by the New York Times for her “impeccable phrase-shaping (and) crystalline sound,” noted pianist Lorraine Min will be the special guest in the Quad City Symphony Orchestra's sixth and final Masterworks presentations of the ensemble's 2024-25 season.

An exhilarating concert event powered by Las Vegas Walk of Fame recipient Jalles Franca, the touring sensation MJ Live: Michael Jackson Tribute Concert moon-walks its way to Davenport's Adler Theatre on April 7, taking audiences on an unforgettable journey through the timeless music and legendary performances of one of music history's most successful artists.

Touring in support of their September release Barely Blue, an album that Rolling Stone said "evokes images and sentiments of wonderment and playfulness," the country artists of Midland headline an April 5 concert at Davenport's Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center, Rolling Stone adding that "the Texas-based band blend their voices to produce country music that recalls a mix of George Strait, Urban Cowboy, and Seventies yacht rock."

With their concert events praised by Austin 101 Magazine as "a sonic and visual feast," the Florida-based duo of Black Violin -- with Kev Marcus plays the violin, and Wil B. on viola -- performs an April 4 headlining engagement at Davenport's Capitol Theatre, the pair lauded for their unique melding of jazz, hip-hop, funk, and classical music.

On April 5, music lovers are invited to experience the thrilling energy of stride jazz piano with virtuoso Alex Gilson in his solo showcase Making Strides, an event in the Sound Conservatory's Carnegie series showcasing the thrilling joys of swing, syncopation, and masterful improvisation.

Touring in support of his 2024 release Long Haul, which No Depression lauded as "the most positively alive and vivacious album of [the artist's] recording career," acclaimed cellist, singer/songwriter, and composer Ben Sollee performs a special headlining engagement at Davenport's Raccoon Motel on April 4, his music blending folk, bluegrass, jazz, and R&B elements while employing banjo, guitar, mandolin, percussion, and unusual cello techniques.

Presented by OUTLETProgramme, a nonprofit (501c3) arts and culture community-interest project that focuses on presenting sound artists, DJs, experimental, avant-garde, electronic, and international artist, the April 4 concert event at Rock Island's Rozz-Tox will boast the varies talents of three independent favorites: Indiana natives Mark Tester and Landon Caldwell, and the Illinois-bred Nick Yeck-Stauffer.

Hailing by the Tongue on the Post Festival as "a peach with pistol attitude," 20-year-old country singer/songwriter Noeline Hofmann headlines an April 10 engagement at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, the young artist's laurels to date including scoring a feature on Zach Bryan’s The Great American Bar Scene and more than 37 million streams on Spotify.

Chart-topping Scottish musicians whom Broadway Baby praised for producing “music that upholds heritage while still sounding unmistakably current,” the Celtic rockers of Skerryvore headline an April 9 concert event at Galesburg's Orpheum Theatre, their performance delivering an eclectic fusion of rock, pop, and folk music with an emphatic thundering of drums and bagpipes.

An exciting and unique work for chorus and orchestra with texts written by the titular master and accompanying screen projections, Jocelyn Hagen’s The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci enjoys an April 5 performance at Galesburg's Orpheum Theatre, the event promising an immersive and powerful experience drawn from de Vinci's stunning sketches.

An internationally renowned organist whose performances are acclaimed for their musicality, virtuosity, and ability to excite and engage audiences of all ages, David Briggs performs in the University of Dubuque's John & Alice Butler Pipe Organ Recital Series, his April 6 program proving why he is considered among the foremost organ transcribers of symphonic works, giving listeners the opportunity to experience the organ in a new way.

With its delightful assemblage of songs including “Fins,” “Volcano,” “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” and the iconic "Margaritaville," the Jimmy Buffett celebration Escape to Margaritaville enjoys an April 4 through 13 run at Moline's Prospect Park Auditorium, Quad City Music Guild's 2025 season-opener lauded by the Hollywood Reporter as "the theatrical equivalent of sipping on a frozen drink while lying on a beach chair in the blazing sun."

Lauded by American Theatre Magazine as "raw and hilarious," the wickedly funny revenge comedy Exit, Pursued by a Bear enjoys an April 10 through 13 run at Augustana College's Honkamp Myhre Black Box Theatre, its playwright Lauren Gunderson also famed for multiple shows that have recently played on Quad Cities stages, among them Silent Sky, The Revolutionists, and Natural Shocks.

Held in conjunction with the current exhibit showcasing 18 thought-provoking pottery pieces and lithographs, 20 evocative photographs, and a new collaborative piece created exclusively for this exhibition, a special presentation celebrating Cara & Diego Romero: Tales of Futures Past will take place at Davenport's Figge Art Museum on April 10, the evening's program based on themes found throughout the married artists' works.

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