Hailed by Goldmine Magazine for their "unique blend of rock, funk, jazz, reggae, ska, disco, and electro-pop" that "always keeps the crowd on their toes," the rockers of Spafford headline a July 30 concert at Davenport's Redstone Room, Jam & Toast adding that "breathing, listening, and transitions all play big parts in what sets Spafford apart from other jam bands."

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.

G. Wygonik's New Single “Reel Life” Official video screenshot

[Must read lyrics are in this article!] The new single “Reel Life” marks the powerful rebirth of CUT.RATE.BOX. Released for free (pay as you wish) via Bandcamp, it offers a dark and unflinching reflection of our modern age: overstimulated, algorithmically manipulated, and emotionally anesthetized. Musically, the track is a tense fusion of dense electronic punk, EB rhythms, and synthpop unease – drawing on influences such as Cabaret Voltaire, Wire, and Brian Eno, while embracing modern production and generative tools as instruments of expression, not novelty. 

Delivering what the New York Times called “elegant, often deadpan songs that tend toward manly understatement,” the chart-topping, multi-platinum-selling country superstar Gary Allan brings his national tour to Davenport's Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center on July 26, each of his 32 singles having landed on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, with 13 of them also crossing over to the Billboard Hot 100.

Lauded by the Chicago Reader for their "wacky wordplay, tongue-twisting verses, and limber instrumentals," the Chicago-based hip-hop duo The Palmer Squares – composed of monikered musicians Acumental (Ac) and Term (Term K) – headline a July 25 concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, the touring artists also praised by RapReviews for their “talent for earworms and a willingness to let a song shine more than a verse."

Lauded by Rock & Blues Muse for his "charming, effortless, and spontaneous style," and by the Rochester City Newspaper as a talent who “digs deep into rock 'n' roll's blackness and blueness” and “plays downright nasty and mean.” Nashville-based singer/songwriter McKinley James and his bandmates return to Davenport's Raccoon Motel on July 26, his latest album Working Class Blues hailed by NYS Music for the artist's "gritty tone, calming guitar grooves, and swing-style approach."

Currently touring in support of his forthcoming debut album The Land on Most High, the September release boasting the singles "Azalea" and 'Lonestar," alternative rock, folk, and pop musician Jack Blocker makes his first headlining appearance at Davenport's Raccoon Motel on July 24, the singer/songwriter known for being a finalist on the 22nd season of American Idol.

Lauded for their album Tell Tale Heart being a top-10 smash in its first week of release, the Billboard-charting local talents of the Avey Grouws Band play Davenport's Rhythm City Casino Resort Rhythm Room on July 26, demonstrating why Goldmine praised their 2021 release for its “adept arrangements, clear confidence, and a decidedly agile approach as far as the shifts in style.”

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."

An evening of classic '80s rock is promised at Mt. Carroll's Timber Lake Playhouse on July 26 when the venue treats fans to a night with Bad Medicine, the exhilarating touring musicians who will deliver a first act of Bon Jovi hits and a second act of "Non Jovi" smashes, featuring favorites by the hard-rocking likes of Poison, Van Halen, and Guns N' Roses.

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