For Charlie Musselwhite, the blues aren't 12 bars and three chords. "It's the feeling," he said. "You can find the music of lament anywhere." The irony of that statement is that harmonica wizard Musselwhite was at the forefront of the white-blues movement of the 1960s, and - as the All Music Guide notes - he was "especially faithful to the style.

For the 20th edition of the Mississippi Valley Blues Festival, we've chosen to highlight a wide variety of performers as well as provide some historical perspective on the festival. Our coverage includes two acts who pretty much stick to the blues - Rod Piazza and W.

What's the best sightseeing to do in Vegas in 100-degree-plus weather? Stay mostly inside and check out the great art scene. Last Thursday I took the inaugural nonstop flight to Las Vegas from the Quad Cities airport.

In its effort to capitalize on available state money, the City of Davenport is working quickly to finalize its first phase of the joint Rock Island/Davenport River Vision implementation. But chasing that money - the city plans to ask for $15 million from Iowa's Vision Iowa and Community Attractions & Tourism (CAT) programs - means the city council probably won't be giving itself or the public much time to study the plan's details, including its financing or a riverfront casino hotel that became part of the discussion only at the tail end of the process.