DES MOINES, IA (05/19/2014)(readMedia)-- Throughout the 11 days of the 2014 Iowa State Fair, Fairgoers can enjoy more than half a million dollars worth of free entertainment from rock legends to country up-and-comers. "Nothing Compares" to this year's entertainment, all free with gate admission. The Iowa State Fair runs August 7-17.

This year's line-up features alternative rock band Alien Ant Farm. The group boasts more than five million record sales, a Grammy Award nomination and four top-ten singles including their double-platinum cover of Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal." Other rock groups include the Beatle's tribute band Yesterday, Los Lonely Boys, Winger and The Romantics.

After reuniting in 2013, Trick Pony is back and better than ever with a new flare to fit today's country radio. Their hits include "On a Mission," "Just What I Do" and the top-ten single off their gold-certified debut album, "On a Night like This." Other country acts include Dustin Lynch, the Swon Brothers and Eric Paslay.

Back by popular demand, the self-proclaimed "Glee-meets-Stomp" group Vocal Trash will perform daily on the Fairview Stage. Also returning is southern rock band Black Stone Cherry and Hairball, the world's ultimate 80s arena rock impersonation act.

Discounted admission tickets are available now through August 6, with savings of nearly 30 percent. Purchase tickets online at iowastatefair.org. The Iowa State Fair Ticket Office opens Monday, July 7, for walk-up orders.

A complete listing of event dates, times and locations follows:

Fairview Stage sponsored by Coors Light with media sponsor KCCI 8 News

August 7-17 Vocal Trash (1 & 3 p.m.)

August 7 Los Lonely Boys (8 p.m.)

August 8 The Nadas (7 & 9 p.m.)

August 9 Alien Ant Farm (8 p.m.)

August 10-11 Savannah Jack (7 & 9 p.m.)

August 12 Green River Ordinance (8 p.m.)

August 13 The Romantics (8 p.m.)

August 14 Trixter (8 p.m.)

August 15 Black Stone Cherry (8 p.m.)

August 16 The Blue Band (7 & 9 p.m.)

August 17 Here Come the Mummies (8 p.m.)

Anne and Bill Riley Stage sponsored by Pepsi

August 7-8 The Willis Clan (7 & 9 p.m.)

August 9 Iowa State Fair Queen Coronation (7 p.m.)

August 10-14 Ron Diamond (7 & 9 p.m.)

August 15-16 Ryan Shupe and The RubberBand (7 & 9 p.m.)

August 17 Bill Riley All Star Show (7 p.m.)

Bud Light Stage sponsored by ABC5

August 7 Winger (8 p.m.)

August 8 Great White (8 p.m.)

August 9 PopROCKS (7:30 & 9:30 p.m.)

August 10 Slaughter (8 p.m.)

August 11-12 Hairball (7:30 p.m.)

August 13 Hotel California: A Salute to the Eagles (8 p.m.)

August 14 Ben Portsmouth (8 p.m.)

August 15-16 Yesterday: A Beatles Tribute (8 p.m.)

August 17 Fastball (8 p.m.)

Susan Knapp Amphitheater with media sponsor KDSM FOX 17

August 7 Kristian Bush (8 p.m.)

August 8 Jon Pardi (8 p.m.)

August 9 Dallas Smith (8 p.m.)

August 10 Trick Pony (8 p.m.)

August 11 Dustin Lynch (8 p.m.)

August 12 Country Gold (5 & 7:30 p.m.)

August 13 The Swon Brothers (8 p.m.)

August 14 Fair-well to Summer Dance Party (7 p.m.)

August 15 Eric Paslay (8 p.m.)

August 16 Sundy Best (8 p.m.)

August 17 Charles Esten (8 p.m.)

"Nothing Compares" to the 2014 Iowa State Fair, August 7-17. The Fairgrounds are located at East 30th and East University Avenue, just 10 minutes east of downtown Des Moines. Discounted gate admission tickets are on sale now through our convenient print at home ticket option at iowastatefair.org. For more information, call 800/545-FAIR or visit iowastatefair.org.

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Saturday, May 31, 2014

The Muddy Water's, 1708 State Street, Bettendorf, Iowa, is marking four-years in business with a fun-filled anniversary celebration on May 31, starting at 4:30 p.m.

The Muddy Waters "backyard" will be the home to an impressive live music line-up starting with the Winter Blues All-Stars at 4:30 p.m. The Winter Blues All-Stars is comprised of talented young musicians selected from the River Music Experience's Winter Blues program. The annual Winter Blues program features vocal and instrumental workshops, as well as a concentration on blues composition and improvisation. The 2014 Winter Blues All- stars include Jesse Barger (guitar), Noah Schneider (guitar), MacKenzie Noppe (drums, guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, vocals), Matt Fuller (guitar), Michael Osborne (bass guitar, harmonica), Sarah Elisabeth Hanson (vocals).

The Curtis Hawkins Band will rob the stage at 6:00 p.m. Playing a variety of soul, funk, and blues, The Curtis Hawkins Band has shown that they are capable of doing what it takes to make it in the music scene. Based out of the Quad Cities and Galesburg, Illinois, members include Andrea Mendoza (bass), Ian Johnson (guitar, vocals), Jamie Hopkins (drums, vocals), and m3 (keyboards, vocals). You can find them playing original music from their "Keep Workin' The Blues" CD (available on iTunes) then turn around and bust out everything from rock-n-roll to funk-n-soul! If you like Steeley Dan, Santana, Prince, the Allman Brothers, and Stevie Wonder, swing into The Muddy Waters "back-yard" for a listen to The Curtis Hawkins Band - real music by real musicians.

A high-energy, 7-piece, power horn band is what's happening on the stage at 8:00 p.m. with Tangent!. Tangent! is from right here in the Quad Cities and they will be mixing all of the best sounds and songs of Motown, Blues, Soul, Rock, and Jazz. While reasonably true to the original songs, Tangent! also lends their own style and solos into the mix, just at the right time. The music that they play will lift you off of your lawn chair, and right onto the dance space. If you like horns, excellent guitar and keyboards, a female singer with pipes of gold, or a rhythm section that is rock solid, come listen to Tangent! You will be glad that you did.

At 10:00 p.m., John Nemeth and the Bo-Keys will capture the audience and headline the night's events. Since bursting onto the scene in 2007, John Németh has wowed critics and audiences alike with his riveting vocals and harmonica prowess. He has just received the "2014 Soul Blues Male Artist of the Year" Award from the International Blues Foundation. The Philadelphia Inquirer testified to his standing in the current music scene with the comment, "Classic soul and R&B styles have been revitalized by artists such as James Hunter, Eli 'Paperboy' Reed, and Sharon Jones. You can include John Németh on any list of the best of them." The dynamic soul sensation continues to reinvigorate vintage American rhythm and blues with his uncanny ability to skillfully blend retro and modern blues and soul into compelling music that is simultaneously old and new.

Throughout the day, The Muddy Waters will have drink specials, give-aways, and a food menu that will include Cajun and  Creole style choices  all prepared by Blazin' Cajun.

The Muddy Waters, only three blocks east of the I-74 bridge, close to the bike path, and on the route for the Loop buses and is open 365 days a year. The Muddy Waters features three pool tables and large-screen TVs, and a variety of martinis and import and domestic beers including locally brewed offerings from Bent River Brewing Company and Great River Brewing Company.

Check the website for The Muddy Waters at: www.themuddywaters.com; email: info@muddys.info.

Davenport, IA-The final concert on the QCSO/WVIK Signature Series is also coming up soon. The Quad City Symphony Orchestra and WVIK, Quad Cities NPR, are presenting QCSO Concertmaster Naha Greenholtz, clarinetist Kyle Knox. Pianist Benjamin Loeb, and cellist Sæunn Thorsteinsdöttir. These musicians are performing Béla Bartók's Contrasts, originally composed for performance by Benny Goodman, set between Saint-Saëns' Trio No. 1 in F Major and Ravel's Piano Trio. The concert will be on Sunday, May 18, at 3:00 p.m. The final Signature Series concert is being performed on Sunday, May 18, at 3:00 p.m. in Wallenberg Hall in the Denkmann Memorial Building at Augustana College. This performance is sponsored by Sponsored by Q₁₀ Enterprises.

American clarinetist Kyle Knox held the Donald and Ruth P. Taylor Assistant Principal Clarinet Chair in the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra from 2006 until 2014. In addition to his duties with the MSO, he has performed on 2nd and Eb Clarinet with the Philadelphia Orchestra and on Bass Clarinet with the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra. Kyle has also been featured at prominent music festivals throughout North America and Europe including the Tanglewood Music Center, where he won the Gino Cioffi Award, the Spoleto Festival dei Due Mondi (Italy), the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, the Santa Fe Opera, the Bowdoin Summer Music Festival, and the New York String Orchestra Seminar.

Canadian violinist and QCSO concertmaster Naha Greenholtz was born in Kyoto, Japan, where she began her violin studies at age three. Since her solo debut at 14, concerto appearances have included engagements with the Vancouver Symphony, National Ballet of Canada, Quad City Symphony, Madison Symphony, and National Repertory Orchestras in works ranging from Bach to Stravinsky. Ms. Greenholtz also has an active career as an orchestra musician. In addition to her duties as Concertmaster of both the Quad City and Madison Symphony Orchestras, performance highlights have included guest concertmaster appearances with the Oregon Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, Omaha Symphony, and Memphis Symphony, among many others. She serves as Artistic Director of the WVIK/QCSO Signature Series, a chamber music series dedicated to bringing world-class performances to the Quad City metro area.

"Charismatic" [NYTimes] cellist, Sæunn Thorsteinsdöttir recently made her debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic which the LA Times praised her for her "emotional intensity." Following the release of her recording of Britten's Suites for Solo Cello, last season she performed in some of the world's greatest halls including Carnegie Hall, Suntory Hall, and Disney Hall. This season will mark her debut with the Toronto Symphony and, starting in the fall of 2013, Sæunn will be Artist-in-Residence at Sonoma State University's Green Music Center in California. 2013-14 will also be Sæunn's inaugural season as cellist of the Manhattan Piano Trio, beginning with her debut concert at the Chautauqua Music Festival. Thorsteinsdöttir is former member of the Quad City Symphony Youth Ensembles.

Benjamin Loeb, Executive Director of the Quad City Symphony Orchestra, is an accomplished conductor, accompanist, soloist, arranger, educator, and administrator. He has been hailed in El Paso as "a walking genius of unique ideas for making concerts fun to perform and hear, as well as subtly exposing youngsters to the pleasures of good music, [El Paso, Inc.]" while his recent performance with the Greater Bridgeport (CT) Symphony Orchestra as a "double-threat" both playing and conducting Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue was called "a total triumph that triggered a well-deserved, spontaneous standing ovation. Loeb and the GBS captured every ounce of imagination and emotion Gershwin packed into his ground breaking musical portrait." (Connecticut Post) Other widely varied projects range from concerts of Beethoven and Bruckner Symphonies to recordings with Yo-Yo Ma of Italian 16th century madrigalists to tours with rock musicians to world premieres of cutting-edge avant-garde contemporary music.

The Signature Series is presented by WVIK, Quad Cities NPR, 90.3 FM in collaboration with the Quad City Symphony Orchestra and Augustana College. Performed in Augustana's Wallenberg Hall and rebroadcast on WVIK, this versatile and intimate five-concert series features select members of the QCSO and visiting artists from across the nation. Under the artistic direction of the Quad City Symphony Orchestra's Concertmaster Naha Greenholtz, the Signature Series is a testament to the vitality of the classical music community in the Quad Cities. This performance will be rebroadcast on WVIK, Quad Cities NPR, 90.3 FM on Sunday, May 25, at 7:00 p.m.

WVIK/QCSO Signature Series

Bartok Contrasts and more

Saturday, May 18, at 3:00 p.m.

Wallenberg Hall, Augustana College

This concert is sponsored by Q₁₀ Enterprises.

Wallenberg Hall is on the second floor of the Denkmann Memorial Building, 3520 7th Avenue, Rock Island. Elevator access is available. Parking is in Lot E adjacent to Centennial Hall lot or Lot H adjacent to Lutheran House, with handicapped parking immediately behind the Denkmann Memorial Building. Tickets for the WVIK/QCSO Signature Series are $25, with a $10 student ticket available. Get your tickets today by calling 563.322.QCSO (7276) or visiting www.qcsymphony.com. Tickets will also be available at the door.

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