On June 6, the Bettendorf Room at the Bettendorf Public Library will definitely be "the Room where it happens," with the venue hosting a 2 p.m. Hamilton Sing-Along Party in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
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Held in honor of June's LGBTQ+ Pride Month, the Davenport Public Library and Midwest Writing Center will host the third-annual Pride Storytelling Night at the library's Eastern Avenue branch on June 11, inviting the community to hear community members, all local to the Quad Cities, sharing personal stories about their lives and identities as members of the Queer community.
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A two-day milestone celebration will take place at the Rhythm City Casino Resort on June 12 and 13, with the Davenport venue proud to host its 10-Year Anniversary Weekend, treating hotel guests and visitors to free live-music events, amazing deals, and the chance to win thousands of dollars in cash and prizes.
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Germans have been a part of the American story since its beginnings as a country, and on June 14, visitors at the German American Heritage Center are invited to a discussion on notable citizens who were active in U.S. military affairs in Germans in the Military from von Steuben to WWII, the latest presentation in the Davenport venue's popular "Kaffee und Kuchen" series.
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Delivering a blend of local history, environmental issues, education, entertainment, and fresh air, Davenport's River Action will again present a series of outdoor presentations in the first month-plus of the annual Channel Cat Talks and Riverine Walks: weekly "Explore the River Series" programs that, from May 26 through June 27, will address such topics as raptors, barges, Modern Woodmen Park, and the historically wicked night spot that was Davenport's Bucktown.
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Here we are again, a decade later, fighting for the preservation of Scott County's exceptional land, with its rich soil, as farmland in perpetuity (and that of Iowa at large), especially due to its 100 rating as the best soil in the world for food production.
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Voters and taxpayers, most of whom are economic participants in some measure, whether owners of our own labor, capital, and/or resources, continue to accept, via silent consent, governance that is neither the republican form of government guaranteed by the U.S. and State Constitutions, nor is it democratic representation.
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The Iowa Senate sent Governor Kim Reynolds’ “Make America Healthy Again” legislation to her desk on April 27, a package that includes SNAP restrictions, over-the-counter ivermectin, and several school health and nutrition policies.
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Des Moines Taxpayers Foot $975,000 Hush Payment to Des Moines Police Chief Candidate
City Attorney Denies Iowa Freedom of Information Council's FOIA Request for Major Lillie Parker's Demand Letter
City leaders in Des Moines are making it difficult to understand why they selected the new police chief, considering how they have imposed a code of silence about their recent $975,000 payout to one of the candidates who did not get the job.
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Kitty: I think that Godspell is a highly underrated musical. It’s the secret, more heartfelt version of Jesus Christ Superstar.
Mischa: And without Andrew Lloyd Webber’s malevolent influence!
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One of William Shakespeare's most delightful and infrequently staged romantic comedies opens Genesius Guild's 2026 summer season at Rock Island's Lincoln Park, with Love's Labour's Lost, from June 6 through 14, treating audiences to what the New York Times' Ben Brantley called a work that "may well be the first and best example of a genre that would flourish in less sophisticated forms five centuries later: the college comedy."
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Hailed by the New York Daily Mirror as “a hit you must see” and by the Los Angeles Times as “a handsomely staged case for miracles,” playwright N. Richard Nash's 1953 classic The Rainmaker enjoys a June 4 through 14 run at Geneseo's Richmond Hill Barn Theatre, this optimistic charmer famed for its beloved 1956 movie adaptation starring Burt Lancaster and Katharine Hepburn.
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One of the greatest and most beloved musicals in the history of American theatre opens the 2026 summer season at the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre, with Guys & Dolls running from June 11 through 21, and treating audiences to a nine-time Tony Award winner that the New York Times called “the show that defines Broadway dazzle.”
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The winner of three Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and being presented locally in celebration of America's 250th-birthday year, the lauded historical musical 1776 enjoys a June 12 through 21 run at Moline's Prospect Park Auditorium, the show lauded by the New York Times as "a most striking, most gripping musical" whose "characters are most unusually full."
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Touring in support of 2025's remastered version of their album In a Perfect World, a 30th-anniversary release for which, according to New Noise magazine, the artists were "sounding as powerful and vital as ever," the post-punk and alternative rockers of Season to Risk headline a June 8 concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, other fan-favorite albums including 1-800-Meltdown, Men Are Monkeys, Robots Win, and their sefl-titled 1993 debut.
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Hailed by Saving Country Music as "the hot thing of the Austin honky tonks," singer/songwriter Ellis Bullard headlines a June 9 concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, the artists' sophomore album Honky Tonk Ain't Noise Pollution lauded by Metal Planet Music as "a damned fine slice of good ol’ country music: well written, well played, well sung, and very well produced."
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Touring in support of their 2026 recording Grace in Decay that Headbangers Australia said "moves with complete and total purpose," the heavy-metal artists of Spiral Fracture headline a June 10 concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, the group's latest also hailed by Rock-Expert as a work that "reflects the band's view of the modern world, exploring themes of inner struggle, collapse, resilience, and personal truth."
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Families across the Quad Cities are invited to celebrate music, literacy, culture, and community as Grammy Award-winning children’s artist and author Lucky Diaz visits the region for two special public events: a June 11 visit to the Moline Public Library, and a June 12 concert at Moline's Mercado on Fifth.
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With the group dedicated to revitalizing Anatolian folk music and instrumentation by infusing timeless melodies with a modern psychedelic flair, the touring ensemble Derya Yildirim & Group Şimşek headline a June 12 concert at Rock Island venue Rozz-Tox, the group's 2025 release Yarın Yoksa inspiring The Guardian to rave that "fuzzy, hypnotic beats, soulful saz-funk and emotive balladry mark Yıldırım's powerfully imaginative new music."
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Launched in 2023 by the Azubuike African American Council for the Arts and taking place in various area locales June 4 through 7, the fourth-annual Pulling Focus African American Film Festival of the Quad Cities will again bring together filmmakers, artists, educators, and audiences for independent film screenings, filmmaker conversations, cultural dialogue, and community celebration throughout the Quad Cities region.
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Going to the cineplex or staying in and streaming this weekend? Every Thursday morning at 8:15 a.m. you can listen to Mike Schulz dish on recent movie releases & talk smack about Hollywood celebs on Planet 93.9 FM with the fabulous Dave & Darren in the Morning team of Dave Levora and Darren Pitra. The morning crew previews upcoming releases, too. Or you can check the Reader Web site and listen to their latest conversation by the warm glow of your electronic device. Never miss a pithy comment from these three scintillating pundits again
Thursday, June 4: Discussion of Backrooms, Pressure, and The Breadwinner, and previews of Masters of the Universe, Scary Movie, and Power Ballad, all from the comforts of Dave's and Darren's fresh digs in downtown Davenport. A new chapter begins!
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I'm not sure what it says about the future of horror movies – if it says anything at all – that the year's strongest, scariest creep-out to date is directed by someone not quite old enough to drink.
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Over the course of two-hours-plus, “cute” will only get you so far. But it's astounding how far it gets us in Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu, which might've been an easy franchise low point if not for the diminutive cuddlebug of the title.
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Now playing at area theaters.
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Four Chicago-based artists will present concurrent solo exhibitions across the galleries of Dubuque's Voices Studios from June 5 through July 31, with the collective Quiet Intersections exhibit a multi-faceted experience that reveals how individual artistic voices can converge, diverge, and share creative space.
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Bringing together contemporary artists responding to the themes and aesthetics explored in the Davenport venue's concurrent exhibition The Golden Age: Featuring Northern European Works from the National Gallery of Art, the Figge Art Museum's A Golden Age for Whom? will be on display June 6 through September 20, the two exhibitions' adjoining galleries allowing visitors to move directly between historic works and contemporary responses.
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A trio of gifted Midwest photographers, one of them based in the Quad Cities, will have their latest works featured at Rock Island's Quad City Arts Center through June 19, with the Huang, Jackson, & Terry exhibition showcasing the talents of the Peoria-based Qingjun Huang and Natalie Jackson, as well as those of Davenport's Matthew Terry.
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For the Davenport's final new exhibition of 2025, the Figge Art Museum will be taking an up-close-and-personal look at some of its most arresting in-house works in A Surreal Lens: Photography from the Figge Collection, a celebration of the medium on display in the Lewis Gallery hrough June 21.
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Inviting visitors to reflect on themes central to the artist's practice – including the joyful celebration of LGBTQ identity, acknowledgment of ongoing challenges to the community’s rights, and the enduring impact of the AIDS epidemic – Felix Gonzalez-Torres: "Untitled" (L.A.) will be on display in the Figge Art Museum's Gildehaus Gallery through June 21.
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