John Paul White

Music

John Paul White

Daytrotter

Wednesday, July 13, 8 p.m.

On July 13, independent singer/songwriter and four-time Grammy Award winner John Paul White performs a special concert at Davenport’s Daytrotter venue. Later this summer, on August 19, White will release his second solo album, Beulah, which features songs including “Make You Cry,” “I’ll Get Even,” and “Hate the Way You Love Me.” Just throwing those provocative-sounding titles out there in case you were somehow confusing John Paul with Pope John Paul.

There’s no mistaking the singular artistry of White, however, whose Beulah single “The Martyr” was recently showcased in Ann Powers’ “Songs We Love” column for NPR.org – a song praised for “White’s willingness to be openly emotional” and “the intelligent coolness that distinguishes his style of high Romanticism.”

Born in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and a current resident of that state’s Florence, White had already spent years composing music in Nashville – his credits including co-writing Jason Aldean’s 2007 hit “Relentless” – when he was randomly paired with singer/songwriter Joy Williams in a 2008 songwriting workshop. The duo immediately clicked, and by the following year, White and Williams had made names for themselves as The Civil Wars, performing throughout Nashville, releasing Live at Eddie’s Attic, and finding their song “Poison & Wine” prominently featured on a sixth-season episode of Grey’s Anatomy.

Released a week after the episode aired, “Poison & Wine” debuted at number four on the iTunes Singer/Songwriter chart, and led to two years of touring engagements for The Civil Wars. All that, in turn, led to chart-topping success for the duo’s 2011 studio-album debut Barton Hollow, Grammy wins for Best Folk Album and Best Country Duo/Group Performance, and a touring engagement opposite Adele, who took to her blog to call the White/Williams collaboration “by far the best live band I have ever seen.” Unfortunately and ironically, though, The Civil Wars soon had one raging within their partnership, and in 2014 – after two more Grammys and a Golden Globe nod for the chart-topping Hunger Games song “Safe & Sound” – White and Williams announced an official parting of the ways.

But now, after a productive hiatus spent with his wife and four kids, White is back in the limelight in support of Beulah, which he describes on SingleLock.com as “the sound of me thinking and living and breathing and doing.” If only we all sounded so incredible doing those things.

According to that site, Beulah is “a remarkably and assuredly diverse collection spanning plaintive folk balladry, swampy Southern rock, lonesome campfire songs, and dark acoustic pop,” its presentation “gothic and ambitious, with a rustic, lived-in sound.” And NPR’s Powers writes that White’s voice “dazzles without ever grabbing for attention,” and that his new album “blends his previous approaches seamlessly in songs that are daringly intimate, artfully modulated, hook-blessed, and habit-forming.” In other words, when it comes to continuing to challenge and thrill music lovers, White may have lost the Wars, but he hasn’t nearly lost the war.

John Paul White performs locally with an opening set by The Secret Sisters, and more information on the night is available by visiting Daytrotter.com.

Music

Chris Cornell

Adler Theatre

Tuesday, July 12, 8 p.m.

The theme song for 2006’s James Bond movie Casino Royale is titled “You Know My Name,” and if you’re a rock and metal fan, you no doubt know the name of the artist who sings it: Chris Cornell. But while Cornell is a bona fide music legend, ranking in the top 10 of Hit Parader’s “Heavy Metal’s All-Time Top 100 Vocalists” and Rolling Stone’s “Best Lead Singers of All Time,” which Chris Cornell are you most familiar with?

Is it the Cornell who co-founded the rock band Soundgarden, which was instrumental in the origins of Seattle’s grunge movement, and whose 1994 album Superunknown debuted at number one on the Billboard charts and won Grammy Awards for Best Metal Performance and Best Hard Rock Performance?

Is it the Cornell who, in 2001, joined the rock supergroup Audioslave, which earned three Grammy nods of its own, topped the charts with 2005’s Exile, and was the first American rock band to perform an open-air concert in Cuba?

Or is it the Cornell who has forged a supremely successful career as a solo artist, was named “Rock’s Greatest Singer” by readers of Guitar World, and is currently traveling the planet on his Higher Truth World Tour, which makes a stop of Davenport’s Adler Theatrre on July 12?

Hopefully, your answer is “all of the above” ... at least if you want to successfully pass the accompanying Chris Cornell quiz! Of the following nine songs, which were Cornell’s hits with Soundgarden, which were with Audioslave, and which were solo efforts?

1) “Be Yourself”

2) “No Such Thing”

3) “Black Hole Sun”

4) “Burden in My Hand”

5) “Can’t Change Me”

6) “Doesn’t Remind Me”

7) “Pretty Noose”

8) “Like a Stone”

9) “The Keeper”

A) Soundgarden

B) Audioslave

C) Chris Cornell

Chris Cornell performs in Davenport with an opening set by Fantastic Negrito, and tickets are available by calling (800)745-3000 or visiting AdlerTheatre.com.

Answers: 1 – B, 2 – C, 3 – A, 4 – A, 5 – C, 6 – B, 7 – A, 8 – B, 9 – C. “The Keeper,” by the way, is a song from the film Machine Gun Preacher that earned Cornell a Golden Globe nomination. Fellow Globe nominee John Paul White performs in Davenport the day after Cornell’s concert. I can only presume visits by Ricky Gervais or Tina & Amy are right around the corner.

Theatre

Into the Woods

Prospect Park Auditorium

Friday, July 8, through Sunday, July 17

“Good morning, grandmother!”

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Little Red Riding Hood herself! Hee hee hee ... !”

“I heard you weren’t feeling well, Granny, so I brought something to cheer you up!”

“What a wonderful surprise, my dear! And what do you have there in your basket? Sweets for your poor, sick old grandmother? Hee hee hee ... !”

“Something even better than sweets, Granny – tickets to Quad City Music Guild’s production of Into the Woods!”

“Oh ... um ... how lovely! No food at all, then?”

“Oh, Granny, this is so much better than food – this is a night at one of the most cherished classics in American theatre! It’s a fairytale musical that’s exciting and hilarious and moving, and composer Stephen Sondheim and book writer James Lapine both won Tony Awards for the show during its original Broadway run of 765 performances!”

“That certainly is something! But seriously, no cookies or cakes or anything ... ?”

“And it features so many beloved characters! There’s Cinderella and her stepmother and stepsisters, and Rapunzel, and that little boy Jack who climbed the beanstalk, and a pair of Prince Charmings ... or maybe that should be Princes Charming ... .”

“Yes, yes ... .”

“And there are so many funny and touching songs, Granny! ‘No One Is Alone,’ ‘Ever After,’ ‘No More,’ ‘Giants in the Sky,’ ‘On the Steps of the Palace’ ... . You probably remember a bunch of them from when we watched the Oscar-nominated movie version with Meryl Streep!”

“She is a master of disguise, that Streep ... hee hee hee ... .”

“Plus, Music Guild’s production is just loaded with talent! Colleen Houlihan is the book director, Maureen Holmes is vocal-music director, and Rich Stodd is pit-orchestra director, and Sue Woodard and Mike Turczynski are designing the fairytale costumes and sets! Oh, and it has an absolutely fantastic cast! There’s Sarah Lounsberry as Cinderella, Ben Holmes and Kailey Ackermann as the Baker and Baker’s Wife, Rachel Vickers as the Witch, and so many more! Jonathan Schrader, Bob Manasco, Cole Harksen, Valeree Pieper, Chelsea Crumbleholme, Becky Lee Hinton, Kathryn Martin, Stephenie Moeller, Tim Dominicus, Jake Walker, Traci Brewster Evans, Noel Huntley ... !”

“Well, my dear, I can’t wait! Bring those tickets a little closer so I can get a good look at them.”

“All right, Granny! ... Hmmm. Um ... Granny? What big eyes you have!”

“The better to see Into the Woods, my dear!”

“And what big ears you have!”

“The better to hear Into the Woods, my dear!”

“And what big teeth you have!”

“Oh, these? Yeah. New dentures. They feel a little too big for my mouth, but my dentist said they make me look sexy!”

“Ugh. That guy. What a wolf.”

Into the Woods runs July 8 through 17 – performances are Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. – and more information and tickets are available by calling (309)762-6610 or visiting QCMusicGuild.com.

What Else Is Happenin’ ...?

MUSIC

Friday, July 8 – Here Come the Mummies. Outdoor concert with the tightly wrapped rockers, with an opening set by 10 of Soul. Rock Island Brewing Company (1815 Second Avenue, Rock Island). 8 p.m. $23 advance tickets. For information, call (309)793-1999 or visit RIBCO.com.

Friday, July 8, and Saturday, July 9 – 80/35 Music Festival. Ninth-annual festival featuring two days of progressive music with more than 40 acts on two stages. Western Gateway Park, Des Moines. Friday music starts at 5 p.m., Saturday music starts at noon. $50 per day, $90 for a two-day pass. For information, visit 80-35.com.

Friday, July 9 – Daiquiri Factory Anniversary Party. Outdoor concert celebrating the venue’s 12th year in the District of Rock Island, with concert sets by Hairbanger’s Ball and Corporate Rock. The District of Rock Island. 8 p.m. For information, call (309)786-1016 or visit DaiquiriFactory.com.

Saturday, July 9 – Dawn & On Music Festival. Area rockers of The Dawn host their second-annual outdoor event featuring vendors, a performance by Bottoms Up Quad City Burlesque, and concert sets with a dozen local and regional bands including Soap, The Candymakers, Rude Punch, and The Low Down. Len Brown’s North Shore Inn (700 North Shore Drive, Moline). Noon-midnight. $5 at the gate. For information, visit TheDawnBand.com.

Saturday, July 9 – Cartouche Records Showcase. Concert with regional and national musicians Devin Frank’s Vanishing Blues Band, J.E. Sunde, Chrash, and Brooks Strause. Daytrotter (324 Brady Street, Davenport). 8 p.m. $10-15. For tickets and information, visit Daytrotter.com.

Monday, July 11 – Water Liars. Mississippi-based rock musicians in concert, with opening sets by The Toos and On an On. Daytrotter (324 Brady Street, Davenport). 7 p.m. $8-12. For tickets and information, visit Daytrotter.com.

Wednesday, July 13 – David Wax Museum. Folk-roots rockers and spouses David Wax and Suz Slezak in concert, featuring an opening set by Liz Longley. The Redstone Room (129 Main Street, Davenport). 7:30 p.m. $11.50-14. For tickets and information, call (563)326-1333 or visit RiverMusicExperience.org.

Wednesday, July 13, and Thursday, July 14 – Branson on the Road. Touring production with the Midwestern musicians and comedians. Old Creamery Theatre (39 38th Avenue, Amana, Iowa). 2 p.m. $18.50-33. For tickets and information, call (319)622-6262 or visit OldCreamery.com.

Thursday, July 14, through Saturday, July 16 – Camp Euforia 2016. Roots and funk band Euforquestra hosts its 13th-annual music and camping festival with two-dozen bands performing on two stages. Camp Euforia (5335 Utah Avenue SE, Lone Tree, Iowa). $65-1,500. For tickets and information, visit CampEuforia.com.

Thursday, July 14 – Johnny Counterfit & the Time Travelers Band. Nationally touring impressionist/comedian and his ensemble in concert. Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse (1828 Third Avenue, Rock Island). 6 p.m. buffet, 7:15 p.m. show, $50.16. For tickets and information, call (309)786-7733 extension 2 or visit Circa21.com.

Thursday, July 14 – SHEL. Folk-pop concert with the Colorado-based Holbrook-sister quartet, featuring an opening set by Little Tybee. The Redstone Room (129 Main Street, Davenport). 7:30 p.m. $11.50-14. For tickets and information, call (563)326-1333 or visit RiverMusicExperience.org.

Thursday, July 14 – Sarah Jarosz. Texas-based Americana and folk musician in concert, featuring an opening set by The Brother Brothers. Englert Theatre (211 East Washington Street, Iowa City). 8 p.m. $22-25. For tickets and information, call (319)688-2653 or visit Englert.org.

Friday, July 15 – The Band Perry. Concert with the Grammy-winning siblings and country-music trio. Riverside Casino Event Center (3184 Highway 22, Riverdale, Iowa). 8:30 p.m. $32-75. For tickets and information, call (877)677-3456 or visit RiversideCasinoAndResort.com.

Saturday, July 16 – Lewis Del Mar. Concert with the experimental pop musician. Daytrotter (324 Brady Street, Davenport). 8 p.m. $10-15. For tickets and information, visit Daytrotter.com.

Sunday, July 17 – Semenya McCord Quintet. Polyrhythms’ Third Sunday Jazz Workshop & Matinée presentation featuring a 6 p.m. concert preceded by a 3 p.m. “Demystifying Jazz” workshop. The Redstone Room (129 Main Street, Davenport). $10-15 concert; $5 workshop, free for kids. For information, call (309)373-0790 or visit Polyrhythms.org or RiverMusicExperience.org.

Sunday, July 17 – Tallest Man on Earth. Swedish singer/songwriter Kristian Matsson in concert, with an opening set by Lady Lamb (the Beekeeper). Codfish Hollow Barn (5013 288th Avenue, Maquoketa). 8 p.m. $25-30. For information, visit CodfishHollowBarnstormers.com.

THEATRE

Friday, July 8, through Saturday, August 27 – Menopause: The Musical. Mid-life musical riffs on classic tunes from the ’60s through ’80s, directed by Patty Bender. Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse (1828 Third Avenue, Rock Island). Friday, Saturday, and Wednesday 6 p.m. dinner, 7:15 p.m. pre-show, 7:45 p.m. show. Sunday 4 p.m. dinner, 5:15 p.m. pre-show, 5:45 p.m. show. Wednesday 11:45 a.m. plated lunch, 1 p.m. pre-show, 1:30 p.m. show. $42.50-48. For tickets and information, call (309)786-7733 extension 2 or visit Circa21.com.

Thursday, July 7, through Sunday, July 17 – Checkmate. Leslie Sand’s mystery thriller, directed by Joe DePauw. Richmond Hill Barn Theatre (600 Robinson Drive, Geneseo). Thursday through Saturday 7:30 p.m., Sunday 3 p.m. $12. For tickets and information, call (309)944-2244 or visit RHPlayers.com.

Friday, July 8, through Sunday, July 17 – On Golden Pond. Ernest Thompson’s Tony-nominated dramatic comedy, directed by Jeff Ashcraft. Playcrafters Barn Theatre (4950 35th Avenue, Moline). Friday and Saturday 7:30 p.m., Sunday 3 p.m. $13. For tickets and information, call (309)762-0330 or visit Playcrafters.com.

Friday, July 8, through Sunday, July 17 – The Marvelous Wonderettes. Countryside Community Theatre presents the musical of female pop hits of its ’50s and ’60s, directed by Christina Myatt. Village Theatre (2113 East 11th Street, Davenport). Friday and Saturday 7:30 p.m., Sunday 2 p.m. $13-15. For tickets and information, call (563)285-6228 or visit CCTOnStage.org.

Friday, July 8, through Sunday, July 17 – South Pacific. Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Pulitzer Prize-winning World War II musical. Clinton Area Showboat Theatre (311 Riverview Drive, Clinton). Thursday through Saturday 7:30 p.m., Sunday and Wednesday 3 p.m. For tickets and information, call (563)242-6760 or visit ClintonShowboat.org.

Saturday, July 9, through Sunday, July 17 – Seven Against Thebes and Antigone. Genesius Guild presentations of Aeschylus’ and Sophocles’ one-act ancient-Greek dramas. Lincoln Park (11th Avenue and 38th Street, Rock Island). Saturday and Sunday 8 p.m. Donations encouraged. For information, visit Genesius.org.

Wednesday, July 13, through Sunday, August 14 – Erma Bombeck: At Wit’s End. One-woman tribute to the late author and humorist, written by Margaret and Allison Engel. Iowa Theatre Artists Company (4709 220th Trail, Amana, Iowa). Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday 2:30 p.m.; Friday 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. $20. For tickets and information, call (319)622-6222 or visit IowaTheatreArtists.org.

Thursday, July 14, through Saturday, July 23 – A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Tony-winning slapstick musical set in ancient Greece, composed by Stephen Sondheim. Timber Lake Playhouse (8215 Black Oak Road, Mt. Carroll). Tuesday through Saturday 7:30 p.m., Sunday and Wednesday 2 p.m. $17-25. For tickets and information, call (815)244-2035 or visit TimberLakePlayhouse.org.

Friday, July 15, through Sunday, July 17 – Always ... Patsy Cline. Stage tribute to the legendary country singer presented by the Peace Pipe Players, directed by Dean Matoon. Ohnward Fine Arts Center (1215 East Platt Street, Maquoketa, Iowa). Friday and Saturday 7 p.m., Sunday 2 p.m. $10-15. For tickets and information, call (563)652-9815 or visit OhnwardFineArtsCenter.com.

VISUAL ARTS

Friday, July 8, through Sunday, July 31 – Obits & Portraits: The Art of Jon Burns. Exhibit featuring more than 40 new paintings and drawings by the Moline artist, with an opening reception from 5-7 p.m. on July 8. Rozz-Tox (2108 Third Avenue, Rock Island). Tuesday through Saturday 11 a.m.-1 a.m., Sunday 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Free. For information, call (309)200-0978 or visit RozzTox.com.

EVENTS

Wednesday, July 13 – The Naked Magic Show. Mike Tyler and Christopher Wayne in an evening with the cheeky, full-frontal illusionists. Adler Theatre (136 East Third Street, Adler Theatre). 7 p.m. $29-79. For tickets, call (800)745-3000 or visit AdlerTheatre.com.

Thursday, July 14 through Saturday, July 16 – 37th Annual Walcott Truckers Jamboree. Three-day event featuring more than 175 exhibits, an antique-truck display, a pork-chop cookout, carnival games, concerts with headliners Clare Dunn and Sammy Kershaw, and more. Iowa 80 Truck Stop (755 West Iowa 80 Road, Walcott). Thursday and Friday 10 a.m. start, Saturday 9 a.m. start. Free. For information, visit Iowa80TruckStop.com.

Friday, July 15, through Sunday, July 17 – Yoga Fest. Radish magazine hosts a weekend of events and presentations featuring instructors from local studios and guests including Chicago-based yogis Jim Bennitt, Quinn Kearney, and Sara Strother. Holiday Inn Hotel & Conference Center (1 Plaza Square, Rock Island). $225 weekend pass; $30 Friday only, $175 Saturday only, $55 Sunday only. For information, call (309)757-4947 or (309)757-8380 or visit RadishMagazine.com/yogafest.

Friday, July 15, and Saturday, July 16 – Bottoms Up Quad City Burlesque: Red, White, & Boom! Patriotically themed burlesque and vaudeville entertainment with the area artists and emcee Joshua Kahn. Circa ’21 Speakeasy (1818 Third Avenue, Rock Island). 8 p.m. $18-20, $10 at the door with military ID. For tickets and information, call (309)786-7733 extension 2 or visit Circa21.com.

Saturday, July 16 – Rivers Edge Homebrew Festiv-ale. More than a dozen Midwestern homebrew clubs providing more than 50 brew samples. Rock Island Brewing Company (1815 Second Avenue, Rock Island). 2 p.m. $20-25. For information, call (309)793-1999 or visit RIBCO.com.

Tuesday, July 19, through Saturday, July 23 – Rock Island County Fair. Annual outdoor festival with carnival rides, games, live music, pageants, a demolition derby, truck and tractor pulls, a talent show, vendors, 4-H exhibits, and more. Rock Island County Fairgrounds (4200 Archer Drive, East Moline). $1-5 gate admission. For information, call (309)796-1620 or visit RockIslandFair.org.