The Pork Tornadoes at the Rust Belt -- October 15.

Saturday, October 15, 8 p.m.

The Rust Belt, 533 12th Avenue, East Moline IL

Performing an eagerly anticipated concert return at East Moline venue The Rust Belt, the Midwestern pop-rockers of the Pork Tornadoes will deliver an eclectic assortment of hits on October 15, their energetic repertoire ranging from Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Justin Timberlake, and Beyoncé all the way to Lizzo, The Killers, Coolio, and Phil Collins.

A cover band from Cedar Falls, Iowa, the Pork Tornadoes began, in 2008, as a group whose moniker was in constant flux until they overheard a local radio DJ describe a destructive wind event that hit an area pig farm as a "pork tornado." The quartet originated with founding members Mason Greve, Cory Talbot, Brent Estlund, and Dante Ware, the latter of whom left the band in 2012 and was replaced by Mike Schulte. Current bandmate Jerry Lorenson, meanwhile, joined the ensemble in 2016 after Estlund departed the group. Over the past dozen-plus years, the Pork Tornadoes have played over 600 shows throughout the Midwest, with the musicians' first official performance at The Hub, for which the performers became the permanent house band in 2010 until the Cedar Rapids venue closed in 2014.

With the group boasting four million views on all platforms and 90,000 followers on its social-media sites the Pork Tornadoes' YouTube channel features dozens of live performances, short clips, and samplings of behind-the-scenes footage. From 2017 to 2020, the band has regularly performed at RAGBRAI, and five years ago, the Pork Tornadoes released a cover of "Tennessee Whiskey" on YouTube that has since been seen by more than four-and-a-half million viewers. In January of 2020, the band released its debut EP Beard Pop, which reached number 20 on the Apple iTunes Pop Charts, and was consequently played more than a half-million times throughout the year. The group also recently achieved viral success with an impromptu performance of "In the Air Tonight" with a drum line that was featured in Rolling Stone.

The Pork Tornadoes play their East Moline engagement on October 15 with an opening set by Been There Done That, admission to the 8 p.m. concert is $20, and more information and tickets are available by visiting TheRustBeltQC.com.

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