A lot of 14-year-olds pick up an instrument to emulate their idols. It's just not often they choose the harpsichord.

But that's what George Shangrow did, and decades later, he's the director and founder of Orchestra Seattle and the director of the Seattle Conservatory of Music. This weekend he's performing on the piano and harpsichord as one of four musicians in the Black Hawk Chamber Music Festival.

The "Mostly Mozart Festival" celebrates the 250th birthday of the composer with two concerts each at Moline's First Congregational Church (on July 28 and 30) and Iowa City's Congregational Church (July 29 and 31).

It should come as no surprise that the District of Rock Island has secured terrifically talented bands for its eighth annual Hornucopia festival, taking place on Friday, July 14, and Saturday, July 15. If you've attended Hornucopia in the past, you know the drill: two stages showcasing the finest in R&B, funk, soul, jazz, rock ... basically, any genre that incorporates a little brass. As the festival's motto states, "If it has horns, you'll find it at Hornucopia."

No surprises there. But while researching the first group to perform this weekend - local favorites The Gray Wolf Band, whose set begins at 5 p.m. on Friday - I was floored to discover that drummer Tom Drabek not only served as Alpine Race chairperson for several U.S. Ski Association events, but is a former Special Forces Green Beret, to boot. And he's not the only Gray Wolf performer with an interesting history. According to the group's Web site (http://www.graywolfband.com), Kenny Carleton began his musical career at age 18, playing bass on riverboat cruises with his brother; Jim Ryan, employing the Isabel Bloom technique, has spent two decades years making original concrete sculptures; and Larry Burns has been described as "the biggest rock star that no one has ever heard of."

So much I didn't know about these classic-rock performers! What other gems could I unearth if I did a little Web-site digging on the Hornucopia bands?

If you never stretch, you'll never know what your limits are. Muscatine band Burnt Ends stretches a lot, and - as the group's new album Trip the Dandy nears its end - finds its limit. To put it bluntly: On an otherwise sure-footed album that rarely plays it safe, the rapping was a terrible choice - incongruous and baffling.

The Westside Andy & Mel Ford Band, 2 p.m.

Blues Brother Dan Aykroyd calls Andy Linderman "one of the most dynamic electric harmonica players of our generation."

Jazz performer and producer Ben Sidran calls Mel Ford "one of the finest blues players in the Midwest if not the country."

Put "one of the most dynamic electric harmonica players" on the same stage with "one of the finest blues players in the Midwest if not the country" and you have one of the most exciting blues groups in the country: the Westside Andy & Mel Ford Band.