Performing their celebration of one of the most revered and iconic rock bands in American history, the Redstone Room's May 9 concert featuring Winterland will find their artists paying exhilarating tribute to the musicians of the Grateful Dead, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees included among Rolling Stone's ranking of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time."

With his most recent recording Ain't Giving Up hailed by Rock & Blues Muse as "a sublime effort that shows how much he still has to give us," master blues guitarist Chris Duarte headlines a May 9 concert at Davenport's Bootleg Hill Honey Meads, Blues Rock Review adding that the album finds its artist "raw and revved-up – taking the electric blues and gnawing it back to the bare bones."

Touring in support of their March release Preservers of the Pearl, an album that AllMusic lauded for its "punchy rock and roll served with ample hooks and harmonies," Daniel Romano's Outfit plays a headlining engagement at Davenport's Raccoon Motel on May 11, the group's latest LP also inspiring Raven Sings the Blues to state, "It stalks R&B rubdowns, shines in shivers of folk and soul, and revels in letting riffs tower to their fullest heights."

With the artist lauded by Pitchfork for "ambling compositions that are as evocative as they are refined," bandleader Eli Winter brings his trio to Rock Island venue Rozz-Tox on May 8, his 2025 album A Trick of the Light hailed by Beats Per Minute as a work that "feels unabridged yet restrained, folksy yet contemporary, busy yet bucolic."

With the outfit's most recent recording When the Wind Forgets Your Name praised by Pitchfork as "dotted with cool surprises and intricately plotted melodies," the indie-rock trio Built to Spill headlines a May 13 concert at Maquoketa's Codfish Hollow Barn, Pitchfork also placing three of the band's albums – There's Nothing Wrong with Love, Perfect from Now On, and Keep It Like a Secret – in the top 50 of its "Top 100 Albums of the 1990s list."

A beloved film and television star whose comedy Solo Mio was a recent indie hit, Emmy Award-nominated Kevin James brings his national “Eat the Frog” standup tour to Davenport's Adler Theatre on May 9, his famed credits including the movie slapsticks Paul Blart: Mall Cop and Grown Ups, and his TV work boasting Kevin Can Wait and 207 episodes of The King of Queens.

On May 8, the LeClaire Community Library will be locking its doors and turning down the lights for face painting, snacks, crafts, a sing-along, and more in the KPop Demon Hunters After-Hours Party, with area youths invited to join Huntrix or the Saja Boys in hunting down demons hiding in the library – and in the dark.

With the May 14 event led by Co-Senior Curator Joshua Johnson, the Figge Art Museum's latest Music and Maker's Night will boast an art-making activity and live music in the Davenport venue's Quad City Bank & Trust Grand Lobby, as well as Johnson guiding museum guests on a tour of the fascinating exhibition Get Surreal ( A Surreal Lens).

There's a line, or rather a lyric, that fully encapsulates what Michael is about, and it's found in Jackson's 1983 smash “Billie Jean”: “And be careful of what you do / 'Cause the lie becomes the truth.”