With his most recent album I'm with You lauded by No Depression as "a welcome offering of rootsy and rooted songs that celebrate and contemplate the personal, present moment," folk, blues, and alt-country singer/songwriter William Elliott Whitmore headlines a May 13 concert at Maquoketa's Codfish Hollow Barn, his latest recording also inspiring Glide magazine to state that the artist "has the rare ability to paint vivid pictures with his words."

With gifted vocalist and ensemble leader Donovan Tea currently celebrating his astonishing 39th year with the group, the beloved pop vocalists of the Lettermen make their long-awaited return to the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse on May 15, their ever-popular springtime engagements overflowing with timeless hits such as “When I Fall in Love,” “Put Your Head on My Shoulder,” “Hurt So Bad,” and “Shangri-La.”

His solo-album debut Dangerous Things lauded by Building Our Own Nashville as "full of mezmerising and captivating, sweet sounding melodies," indie-rock singer/songwriter and instrumentalist Dan Layus headlines a May 12 concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, the artist also revered as the vocalist, piano player, and primary lyricist for the chart-topping band Augustana.

Far from the idyllic Shire-like spring paradise in which it is painted by yearning winter minds, May is an unpredictable month in the Mississippi Valley, a season of change unto itself. The polarity of the season is reflected by this month's musical events: a pair of shows as drastically different as the ever-shifting days of May.