• Bill Engvall, October 3

    A beloved touring comedian whose platinum-selling debut recording Here's Your Sign held the number-one position on the Billboard Comedy Chart for an astounding 15 straight weeks, the Grammy-nominated Blue Collar Comedy veteran Bill Engvall returns to Davenport's Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center on October 3, the actor/standup currently traveling the country on his acclaimed "Here's Your Sign, It Wasn't My Time" tour.

  • Quad Cities Haunt Actors Ready to Scare Up a Good, Creepy Time

    Touring the haunted halls and dark crevices of Skellington Manor is scary enough, with its depraved permanent displays and figures. But add the colorful, creepy live performers during the haunted-house season of October 3 through November 2, and the fear factor is super-charged.

  • Banned Books Read-in, October 6

    Held in conjunction with the October 5 through 11 Banned Books Week – a celebration of our collective freedom to read – the Midwest Writing Center's and Rock Island Public Library's annual Banned Books Read-In will take place on October 6, with more than a dozen participants gathering at the library's Watts-Midtown Branch to read from frequently challenged works and unite in the fight against censorship.

  • “From Me to We: Developing Character for the Common Good,” October 6

    Joshua Freedman, co-founder and chief executive officer of Six Seconds – the global non-profit dedicated to teaching people how to use emotional intelligence (EQ) – will deliver the Fall 2025 Michael Lester Wendt Character Lecture at the University of Dubuque's Heritage Center, his presentation "From Me to We: Developing Character for the Common Good" being presented free to the public on October 6.

  • World Ballet Company's “The Great Gatsby,” October 7

    “Lauded by the San Diego Reader for its “heightened sense of reality, folk tales, and folk dances transmogrified into sinuous spectacle,” the World Ballet Company's touring production of The Great Gatsby lands at Davenport's Adler Theatre on October 7, this thrilling adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's literary masterpiece also hailed by the Times-Advocate's critic as “one of the most transcendent cultural experiences I have had in a long time.”

  • “Young Frankenstein,” October 3 through 12

    An Outer Critics Circle Award winner for Best Musical that also earned a Broadway.com Audience Award for Favorite New Broadway Musical, the stage adaptation of Mel Brooks' film classic Young Frankenstein takes over Moline's Spotlight Theatre October 3 through 12, this Tony-nominated riot lauded by the New York Post for its "bright and witty" lyrics and the book's "great job ... in transferring the original script to the stage."

  • “The Woman in Black,” October 2 through 12

    Described by Time Out New York as a play that “provides a pleasurable ripple of fear down one's spine and an uncomfortable lurch in the pit of one's stomach,” the intimate chiller The Woman in Black enjoys a spooky-season run at Geneseo's Richmond Hill Barn Theatre, its October 2 through 12 engagement inviting audiences to witness an evocative stage tale that The Daily Mail called “a truly nerve-shredding experience.”

  • Thirty Shows Later, and Still "Working": Muscatine’s New Era Dinner Theater Presents Its Latest Musical, October 10 through 12

    Jenni Colbert, a 2002 Davenport Central alum, was born to play her part in the new October 10 through 12 production by Muscatine's New Era Dinner Theater.

  • “Junie B. Jones: The Musical,” October 10 through 12

    Praised by DC Theater Arts as "a genuine joy to watch," the family entertainment Junie B. Jones: The Musical enjoys an October 10 through 12 run at the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts, the DC Theater Arts adding that the characters in this Barbara Park adaptation "say the silliest things and die on the hills of the most meaningless opinions, and in doing so, bring genuine belly laughs to the adults in the room."

  • “The Addams Family,” October 16

    With the stage hit lauded by Broadway World as "entirely entertaining and enjoyable," the spooky, kooky, ooky musical-comedy version of The Addams Family brings its national tour to Davenport's Adler Theatre on October 16, this opener to the 2025-26 Broadway at the Adler series treating audiences to a Tony Award-nominated delight inspired by the beloved TV comedy and the iconic cartoon strip by series originator Charles Addams.

  • Are You Ready to Meet Your Shadow?: Celebrate October with Void Church

    October is Void Church season. The Quad Cities collective books shows in all seasons. But when the shadows fall and the light fades, when the veil draws thin and the wind whispers dark and suggestive secrets on the chilling air, Void Church falls into their element. The term “goth” is thrown around like a can of black lacquer, but it fits them like a pair of fishnets. They invite you to come revel in the dying of the light, with one caveat: “Are you ready to meet your shadow?”

  • Low Cut Connie, October 3

    Praised by Rolling Stone for their “gutbucket rock & roll and soulful boogie” and by NPR Music for being “fresh, original, and truly pledged to rock and roll,” the Philadelphia-based talents of Low Cut Connie headline an October 3 concert at Maquoketa's Codfish Hollow Barn, the group's latest album Art Dealers hailed by Glide magazine as "a perfect mix of charm, love, and devotion with just enough sleaze and grit to keep it interesting."

  • The Newfangled Four, October 3

    Presented as part of the inauguration festivities for University of Dubuque President Travis L. Frampton, PhD, a special concert with the a cappella talents of The Newfangled Four will be held in the University of Dubuque's Heritage Center on October 3, the gifted ensemble composed of tenor Joey Buss, lead Jackson Niebrugge, bass Jake Tickner, and baritone Marcus Carline.

  • Blank Space: The Unofficial Taylor Swift Tribute, October 4

    With the arena band fronted by the charismatic Olivia Moretti and providing an unforgettable evening of dazzling visuals and intricate choreography, Blank Space: The Unofficial Taylor Swift Tribute brings its national tour to East Moline venue The Rust Belt on October 4, the group's repertoire ranging from Swift's heartfelt country ballads to her electrifying pop anthems that shook the world.

  • Quad City Symphony Orchestra Masterworks I: “Grieg Piano Concerto,” October 4 and 5

    A celebration of brilliant musicianship and the Romantic with a capital "R," the Quad City Symphony Orchestra opens its 2025-26 Masterworks season with Grieg Piano Concerto, the concert's October 4 and 5 performances at Davenport's Adler Theatre and Augustana College's Centennial Hall boasting a trio of thrilling compositions and the return of guest pianist Wei Luo, an artist whom the San Diego Union Tribune called "destined for stardom."

  • Revolutionaries' War: “One Battle After Another,” “The Strangers: Chapter 2,” “Dead of Winter,” and “Eleanor the Great”

    What do you get when you give $130-175 million to a filmmaker who, after nearly 30 years in the business, has never helmed a blockbuster, or even a movie that grossed more than $41 million domestic? If you're Warner Bros., which granted a nine-figure budget to Paul Thomas Anderson, you probably get all sorts of happy, because the writer/director's new screwball epic One Battle After Another is going through the roof in every imaginable way. Better still, it deserves to.

  • Mike Schulz with Dave & Darren on Planet 93.9 FM

    Going to the cineplex or staying in and streaming this weekend? Every Thursday morning at 8:15 a.m. you can listen to Mike Schulz dish on recent movie releases & talk smack about Hollywood celebs on Planet 93.9 FM with the fabulous Dave & Darren in the Morning team of Dave Levora and Darren Pitra. The morning crew previews upcoming releases, too.

    Or you can check the Reader Web site and listen to their latest conversation by the warm glow of your electronic device. Never miss a pithy comment from these three scintillating pundits again.

    Thursday, October 2: Before Mike takes next week off, discussion of One Battle After Another, The Strangers: Chapter 2, Dead of Winter, and Eleanor the Great, and previews of The Smashing Machine, Good Boy, Anemone, and the new Taylor Swift experience. Mike won't be seeing that one. A handful of others probably will.

  • “An Evening with Topher Grace” and “The Big Picture,” October 4

    A beloved actor from That '70s Show, Spider-Man 3, and the Golden Globe-nominated Scott Beck/Bryan Woods thriller Heretic will make a special appearance at Beck's and Woods' Davenport venue The Last Picture House, the October 4 event An Evening with Topher Grace boasting a Q&A with the film and television star and a screening of director/co-writer Christopher Guest's critically acclaimed 1989 comedy The Big Picture.

  • Past Tension, Present Tense: “A Big Bold Beautiful Journey,” “Him,” “The Senior,” and “The History of Sound”

    Director Kogonada's and screenwriter Seth Reiss' self-help session in the guise of cinema gives you no reason to believe in it, and despite their geniality, we consequently can't believe in Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell, either.

  • Now Playing: Friday, October 3, through Thursday, October 9

    Now playing at area theaters.

Art

  • “Stewards of Our Story: A Legacy of Leadership at the University of Dubuque,” October 3 through 31

    Featuring presidential portraits and an array of images showcasing the University of Dubuque's evolving campus, all reminders of the rich tradition and enduring mission that continue to shape UD today, Stewards of Our Story: A Legacy of Leadership at the University of Dubuque will be on display in the university's Bisignano Art Gallery October 3 through 31, the exhibit and its opening reception aptly timed for the 2025 Homecoming celebration.

  • “Wayfinding,” through October 3

    A trio of the Quad Cities' favorite artists will blend their talents for the latest exhibition at Rock Island's Quad City Arts Center, with Wayfinding, through October 3, showcasing ceramic sculpture by Lori Roderick, woven tapestries by Rowen Schussheim-Anderson, and abstract paintings by Zaiga Minka Thorson.

  • “Day of the Dead,” October 11 through November 30

    A traditional Mexican holiday is again being celebrated in high style at Davenport's Figge Art Museum through the exhibit Day of the Dead, with museum patrons, from October 11 through November 30, invited to reflect on why this Mexican tradition endures, and how it is gaining new resonance across the United States.

  • “Huang Qingjun: Family Stuff,” through October 11

    An art project spanning more than 20 years and including some 150 photographs, he photography exhibit Huang Qingjun: Family Stuff opens the 2025-26 art-show season at Galesburg's Carl Sandburg College, this showcase through October 11 a series of deeply personal works by the artist who has been featured by the New York Times and the BBC.

  • Virtual Talk: “Stitching up History – Clothing in NGA Portraiture with Ninya Mikhaila,” October 16

    On October 16, guests of Davenport's Figge Art Museum are invited to watch a recorded fashion program in the second-floor John Deere Auditorium, with historical costumier Ninya Mikhaila's fascinating program Stitching up History - Clothing in NGA Portraiture being held in conjunction with the current exhibition The Golden Age: Featuring Northern European Works from the National Gallery of Art.