Hailed by the Los Angeles Times as musicians "whose soulful, stripped-down approach combines the softer moments of the Replacements with a bit of the country coloring of the early BoDeans’ albums," the alt-country artists of Gear Daddies headline a July 26 concert at Maquoketa's Codfish Hollow Barn, these Midwestern favorites also lauded by the Argus Leader as "one of the most underrated Minnesota-based bands of all time."

A thrilling night of post-grunge and industrial, alternative, and nu-metal is guaranteed at The Rust Belt on July 24 when the East Moline venue hosts a co-headlining double bill featuring The Union Underground and Spineshank, with another pair of high-energy rock acts on hand via openers Adema and Sicksense.

Performing in support of their tenth and reportedly final studio album Egg & Dart, the June 13 release described by Americana Highways as "a rhinestone shining darkly" and by The Fire Note as "elegiac, thunderous, unforgettable," the indie rockers of Murder by Death bring their farewell tour to Maquoketa's Codfish Hollow Barn on July 20, That's Good Enough for Me adding that "Egg & Dart's impact will be felt for years to come, solidifying Murder By Death's place in music history."

Death metal has roots in numerous bands and places, most significantly in the humid, blood-soaked, stimulant-crazed state of Florida, a peninsula cursed since the days of the Spaniards, if not before. Its tentacles have spread across the globe, including to the poisoned wastes of Iowa, which brings us to the subject of this article.