A pair of exciting, independent, Midwestern music projects, one of them based in the Quad Cities, shares the September 23 bill at Rozz-Tox, staffers at the Rock Island venue proud to present an evening with the trio of Barreleye and the quartet of Lazy Hex.

Celebrating the 40th anniversary of R.E.M.'s iconic Lifes Rich Pageantry, tribute-artists musicians and friends Michael Shannon and Jason Narducy, alongside special guests, headline a September 24 concert event at Maquoketa's Codfish Hollow Barn, Narducy also lauded for his solo project Split Single, and Shannon an Oscar-, Emmy-, and Tony-nominated actor whose film credits include Man of Steel and Knives Out.

Performing under the baton of conductor Maurice Cohn, the Knox-Galesburg Symphony will treat Orpheum Theatre patrons to A Little Night Music on September 19, the evening beginning with a performance of Eine kleine Nachtmusik meaning "A Little Night Music" – that stands as one of composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's most famous compositions.

With the show chockful of upbeat, honky-tonk hits including “On the Road Again,” “Ring of Fire,” “Folsom Prison Blues,” “Good Hearted Woman,” and “Whiskey River,” the tribute talents of The Highway Men Live land at the University of Dubuque's Heritage Center on September 19, the ensemble having performed country-music to millions of fans around the country, and emerging as perhaps the greatest country-music super-group in America.

A genuine rock and heavy-metal legend brings his national tour to East Moline on September 18 when The Rust Belt holds an evening with Tud Nugent, his self-titled album debut a double-platinum hit released more than a half-century ago, and subsequent Billboard smashes including such additional platinum sellers as Free-for-All, Cat Scratch Fever, and Weekend Warriors.

Touring in support of his 2026 album Freedom of Speech that Rolling Stone praised as "a defiant, humorous victory lap," Grammy-nominated rap artist Joseph Edgar Foreman – better known by his alias Afroman – headlines a September 18 concert at Davenport's Capitol Theatre, the musician's discography including 19 studio albums, 13 mixtapes, four EPs, one live album, and the Billboard-charting hit "Because I Got High."

Hailed by The Guardian for delivering "jubilant indie singalongs" and by SputnikMusic for their "tune sense and magnificent, swelling choruses," the Portland-based rockers of Ages and Ages headline a September 18 concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, the outfit's recent credits including a Tiny Desk performance for NPR's All Songs Considered, an appearance at Newport Folk Festival, and the March release of their fifth album Fine Thanks and You.

A country-music singing/songwriting legend with 14 Grammy nominations to her name, Martina McBride brings her eagerly awaited national tour to Davenport's Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center on September 13, the neo-traditionalist talent beloved for smash hits including "Independence Day," "Blessed," and "Concrete Angel."

Touring in support of her newly released EP Promises (Covers EP), and with her prior album Carving Canyons hailed by Forbes as “her best as well as her most mature work yet," lauded singer/songwriter and Rock Island native Lissie returns to the Quad Cities for a September 16 headlining concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel.

Lauded by Saving Country Music as "an amalgam of many great singers of country and roots interwoven into an original approach," singer/songwriter Alma Russ headlines a September 10 concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, Saving Country Music adding that you're likely to find the artist's music "stirring your very soul, sending flutters through your heart and shivers down your spine."

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