You’ve likely heard about the great Native American warrior Black Hawk who made the Rock Island area his home. On August 27, the Rock Island Public Library's Downtown Branch invites you to Please Meet Singing Bird, Black Hawk's less-memorialized wife whose life story is the subject of this presentation by Illinois Humanities Road Scholar Kim Sigafus.
Delivering a blend of local history, environmental issues, education, entertainment, and fresh air, Davenport's River Action concludes its 2026 series of outdoor presentations in the annual Channel Cat Talks and Riverine Walks – weekly "Explore the River Series" programs that, from August 4 through 29, will address such topics as the Mississippi River landscape, the Kreiter Tree Farm, local barrio communities, and the Quad Cities' 3,500 acre wetland ecosystem.
A beloved local tradition designed specifically for seniors continues into its 26th year when River Action, on September 3 and 4, hosts two days worth of self-guided Senior Citizen Golf Cart Tours, with his year’s event including a tour of the Arsenal Island taking place in the early evening, allowing for a normally unseen look at the Mississippi River and the historic island.
Featuring more than 24 large-scale, immersive kaleidoscopes created by world-renowned artist and Davenport native Tom Chouteau, the traveling exhibition Kaleidoscope Odyssey will be housed at Davenport's Putnam Museum & Science Center through September 7, this fascinating walk-through event designed to celebrate the intersection of visual art, science, and optics.
Over the past 250 years, German immigrants and their descendants, particularly in the Midwest, have helped develop, challenge, and improve the United States. The German American Heritage Center will consequently celebrate their history and accomplishments in Shaped by Immigrants: Celebrating 250 Years of the United States, on display in the Davenport venue through November 1.
After Michael J Madigan’s 36 years as Illinois House Speaker, a ten-year term limit on current and future speakers doesn’t seem like a lot of time in the big chair. Except it is.
Yet another sexual harassment allegation has been made against an Illinois House Democrat. But this time, the House speaker’s operation is fully supporting its incumbent.
Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch sat down for interviews with selected reporters last week. He told most of them that his office had conducted an “informal investigation” into sexual harassment allegations against former Representative Harry Benton, D-Plainfield, in 2023.
Senator Rand Paul recently revealed an interesting, albeit jarring, fact about Congressional oversight of the intelligence community in D.C. Senator Paul explained that only eight members of Congress, four from the House Permanent Select Intelligence Committee (HPSIC) and four from the Senate Select Intelligence Committee (SSIC), are privy to the activities of the CIA and the FBI.
House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch promised the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) last week that he will “lead” the effort to send more state money to Chicago Public Schools during the upcoming fall veto session.
Self-referential meta-theatre ploys wage stealth attacks on the audience like mosquitoes. By the time you notice the tiny, piercing strike, it’s gone.
There are some scripts that can be like pulling teeth when not done right. Thankfully, no orthodontist is needed for director Tristan Tapscott's powerful production of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman.
I can only imagine how honored Andy Bro would be to see his name attached to annual presentations of world premieres – shows boasting the exceptional talent, on- and off-stage, continually lured to his theatre in the woods. That being said, and having nothing but admiration and gratitude for Timber Lake's series, I think The Mermaids may have broken my brain.
Lauded by the New York Times as a "big bearhug of a musical" in which "even the most stalwart cynics may have trouble staying dry-eyed," the Tony Award-winning Come from Away enjoys an August 28 through September 12 run at Moline's Black Box Theatre. This deeply moving entertainment is being presented in honor of the 25th anniversary of 9/11, and was hailed by Broadway World as "inspiring, funny, and kick-ass beautiful.”
Nostalgia has a funny way of raising the stakes. A mediocre presentation wouldn’t just be disappointing; it would feel like someone had replaced my ruby slippers with muddy boots and then trounced all over my childhood memories. Thankfully, director Tony Parise’s production bursts to life with color, imagination, and obvious affection for the material.
Lauded by Premier Guitar as an artist who “plays guitar with a high-gain edge and slashing tone,” a famed blues rocker brings his outfit to Davenport when the Devon Allman Project plays the Redstone Room at Common Chord on August 25, Americana Highways hailing the artist's 2025 album The Blues Summit as “an immersive tribute to the storied musical genre of the blues and a wonderful addition to Devon Allman's extensive catalog.”
Lauded by DanDenney.com as artists who “possess a haunting quality laced with a yearning that mirrors the fragility of human connection,” the country-folk musicians of The Band Loula headline an August 26 concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, the group's 2025 debut EP Sweet Southern Summer hailed by Soundlink Magazine as “everything I want country music to be – raw, honest, haunting, and full of heart.”
Hailed by Americana Highways as "a pro’s pro as a musician" and "a personable and warmly engaging performer," folk and indie-pop singer/songwriter Josh Rouse headlines an August 27 concert at Davenport's Redstone Room, AllMusic.com's Tim Sendra adding, “Like a baseball player who quietly hits 30 home runs every year or a golfer who regularly finishes in the Top Ten, Josh Rouse's continued streak of excellence is easy to ignore and maybe even downplay a little."
His 2024 album Honky Tonk Ain't Noise Pollution praised by Metal Planet Music as “a damned fine slice of good ol' country music” that's “well-written, well-played, well-sung, and very well-produced,” Ellis Bullard headlines an August 27 concert at davenport's Raccoon Motel, the artist also lauded by Saving Country Music for “making country music that actually sounds country, while also making it cool.”
On August 28, patrons of the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts are invited to join award-winning Palestinian American composer and buzuq/oud player Wanees Zarour and his ensemble for the Middle Eastern Jazz Fundraiser, a special performance in support of Hope Foundation’s Gaza humanitarian relief efforts.
Even if nothing entirely thrilled me, as least nothing this past weekend outright sucked – making this the perfect time for another quintet of 300-word reviews,
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, August 20: Discussion of The End of Oak Street, The Brink of War, Nimrods, and The Last House, and previews of seven (gulp!) movies opening locally: Insidious: Out of the Further, Mutiny, Tony, The Magic Faraway Tree, Spa Weekend, It Ends, and Teenage Sex & Death at Camp Miasma. Plus Dave's imagining of God of Carnage with the Reagans as one of the couples. Good times.
Until viewing The End of Oak Street, I had no idea how much my soul needed the sight of a feral Anne Hathaway protecting her kids with a shotgun, and a block-long eel slithering through a two-story home, and a Tyrannosaurus rex slurping from an above-ground pool like an enormous golden retriever at its proportional water bowl.
With Screen Anarchy declaring that his latest film “reinvents the classic horror anthology as a celebration of the landscapes and mythologies of his native Midwest,” writer/director Tim Connery's The Driftless enjoys a special September 1 screening at Davenport venue The Last Picture House, this quartet of terrifying tales the winner of the “Audience Favorite” award at the 2025 Nightmare in the Ozarks Festival and “Debut Feature” prize at the 2025 GrimmFest.
Now playing at area theaters.
On August 27, Figge Art Museum Co-Senior Curator Joshua Johnson will lead a special tour in the Music & Makers Night event Golden Age for Whom?, the exhibition of the title designed to bring together contemporary artists who respond to the themes and aesthetics explored in the Davenport venue's concurrent exhibition The Golden Age: Featuring Northern European Works from the National Gallery of Art.
Exploring how the artist used her body to engage with the landscape and create powerful works of art, the fascinating exhibition Ana Mendieta: Traces will be on view in the Figge Art Museum's Gallery 206 from August 29 through February 28, the displayed works generously lent to the Davenport venue by the University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art.
An eagerly awaited tradition featuring dozens of recent and debuting works in a variety of artistic mediums, the 44th edition of the Rock Island Art Guild Fine Arts Exhibition will be on display at the Figge Art Museum from September 5 through January 10, with the Davenport venue housing paintings, sculptures, installations, and more by artists living within a 200-mile radius of the Quad Cities.
Bringing together contemporary artists responding to the themes and aesthetics explored in the Davenport venue's concurrent exhibition The Golden Age: Featuring Northern European Works from the National Gallery of Art, the Figge Art Museum's A Golden Age for Whom? will be on display through September 20, the two exhibitions' adjoining galleries allowing visitors to move directly between historic works and contemporary responses.
Visitors of the Bisignano Art Gallery are invited to experience the University of Dubuque in fresh and unexpected ways through the creative vision of the Plein Air Painters of Dubuque, the exhibition UD Expressions: Plein Air Painters of Dubuque on view through September 25.
You'll get both the current official narrative challenge and What's Happenin' in the Quad Cities.
(Did you know we publish a new Real Astrology and RCR Crossword every week?)
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