With Americana Highways praising the artist for delivering a "sweet, steamy pot of serious country music and lyrics." singer/songwriter Stacy Antonel headlines an August 18 concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, her debut album Always the Outsider hailed by Saving Country Music as "quite an exquisite collection of songs that gives Antonel a unique role in the country landscape."

Having already won 20 awards from the International Bluegrass Music Association and 23 from the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America, the Grammy-nominated bluegrass duo Dailey & Vincent – composed of guitarists, bassists, and vocalists Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent – will perform music that speaks to faith, family, hope, and the journey they have walked together when their "A Beautiful Life Tour" comes to the University of Dubuque's Heritage Center on August 15.

Rod had invited us to hang out with his co-founder Matt Friesz and each of their sons who had joined the [Burnt McMelba] Toast band this year to hear them rehearse for two gigs in August. He wanted us to learn more about how Toast was not having a reunion. The band was having a revival with second-generation blood and new variations on past themes.

A pair of rising country-music stars team up as co-headliners for the August 7 grandstand performance at the Mississippi Valley Fair, the night boasting sets with Tucker Wetmore, his recent "What Not To" described by Country Central as "a deeply convicted, gut-wrenching ballad," and Braxton Keith, whom Cowboys & Indiana Magazine praised for "blending classic country roots with modern swagger."