Another calendar page has turned with the season, bringing with it a loaded month for live music in the Quad Cities. Looming large among the many shows scheduled for October is Judas Priest's October 29 appearance at the Vibrant Arena at the MARK, with Queensrÿche in tow. While most rockers and metalheads in the area are no doubt aware of the metal gods' imminent arrival, there are several other smaller shows happening this month -- including on October 21 and 22 -- that are equally worthy of consideration. Whether or not you have tickets for Priest, these displays of heavy metal thunder will make October 2022 a heavy and memorable month.

Touring in support of their 2022 album Bajascillators that earned five stars from Downbeat magazine and was described as a recording that "works perfectly for the times we’re living in," the Chicago-based psychedelic rockers of Bitchin Bajas headline an October 14 concert at Rock Island's Rozz-Tox, with Downbeat continuing its album rave by stating that "in keeping with the best art, it’s exactly what we need right now."

In a special October 13 presentation at Davenport's Figge Art Museum, Augustana College professor and longtime Quad City Symphony Orchestra musician Tony Oliver will perform the world premiere of composer James Romig's SPACES, an 80-minute composition for solo vibraphone – a ringing keyboard percussion instrument capable of conjuring a dreamy, contemplative atmosphere of gentle harmony and intriguing timbre.

Boasting what Americana Highways calls "maybe the most ruggedly pretty voice in Americana," singer/songwriter and acoustic guitarist John Moreland headlines an October 16 concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, the artist's July rerelease Birds in the Ceiling inspiring Folk Alley to rave, "The beauty is that, listening to it, we feel as if we’re sitting in a room with him and he’s singing each song to us alone."