2024 Alternating Currents Festival, August 15 through 18

Thursday, August 15, through Sunday, August 18

Downtown Davenport, IA, Downtown Bettendorf, IA, and Downtown Rock Island, IL

Taking place in three cities, two states, and nearly three dozen area locales, the popular summertime traveling festival Alternating Currents returns to Davenport, Bettendorf, and Rock Island from August 15 through 18 – a Quad Cities celebration of music, film, comedy, and the arts boasting more than 100 music performances, comedy sets, film screenings, local art displays, and even pro-wrestling.

A number of festival newcomers will take to various stages for the 2024 edition of Alternating Currents. Since their inception in early 2018, the Boston-based indie rockers of Bermuda Search Party have emerged as an energetic and vibrant act whose powerful sound is backed by the raw energy of rock and the coolness and colors of R&B and funk, with palpable grooves coated with savory, soul-inspired riffs, anthemic horns and meaningful lyrics. Chicago's FACS features musicians formerly of the band Disappears who, employing minimalism and space, make abstract and modern art-rock music. Also based in the Windy City, the JuJu Exchange is a musical partnership of three childhood friends whose mostly instrumental sound blends acoustic and digital instruments to further meaningful exchange among seemingly disparate cultures. Along with his band the Morning Doves, Nashville's Paul McDonald delivers poetic, story-driven narratives and deep, thoughtful hooks that are delivered with a raspy yet refined voice reminiscent of another era. And melding the pop power of such '70s as Cheap Trick with the snark of '80s garage bands such as Replacements, Ultimate Fakebook, hailing from Manhattan, Kansas, play a brand of emo power pop that resulted in some now cult-classic recordings.

But Alternating Currents is about much more than live music. Art lovers converge at Alternating Currents to find awe-inspiring exhibits created by leading regional artists. Festival-goers are invited to get excited for interactive exhibits in which they can make personal connections that lead to unforgettable artistic experiences, as Alternating Currents is designed as a destination where you discover art that speaks to you, and a place to interact with the artists who poured their hearts and souls into each piece.

Festival attendees searching for funny will find it when the weekend's comedy sets launch with Greg Warren's August 15 set at Davenport's Capitol Theatre. Warren is a veteran standup comic from Nateland, The Bob & Tom Show, Drybar, and Comedy Central who recently released his special The Salesman. The project tells the story of Warren's post-college phase when he had a stint selling Jif and Pringles for Procter & Gamble which, eventually led to his decision to become a full-time comedian. According to the New York Times, Warren “has done for peanut butter what Jerry Seinfeld did for Pop-Tarts and Jim Gaffigan did for Hot Pockets.” Additional comedy headliners during this year's Alternating Currents include Clifton Dewayne Antoice from Des Moines; Erica Nicole Clark from Chicago; Dana Ehrmann from Milwaukee; Zach Peterson from Omaha; Brent Turhume from Indianapolis; and the Quad Cities' own James Draper.

Alternating Currents will also be featuring dozens of films from rising talents -- a showcase of some of the finest independent and short movies in an array of genres. Over the years, the festival has attracted filmmakers locally, nationally, and internationally, receiving submissions from Paris, Los Angeles, Hamburg, London, New York City, Chicago, Iowa City, Des Moines, and the Quad Cities. This year, 24 official film selections will be shown at Davenport's boutique theatre The Last Picture House, owned by Quad Cities natives and A Quiet Place co-writers Scott Beck and Bryan Woods. The venue boasts two indoor theaters and a rooftop theater for outdoor viewing, offering an exciting opportunity for filmmakers to screen in a state-of-the-art venue for an intimate viewing experience for attendees. This year's schedule boasts films from France (Adieu Gaston), Chicago (Broken Flight), and right here in the Quad Cities, with works by Rock Island's Brandon Gale (Meet Me at the End of the World) and Davenport's Abdur M. Howard (Cultural Abduction) on the Alternating Currents lineup.

With this summer's incredibly diverse roster of events including the Sunday-afternoon Rumble in Rocktown Professional Wrestling event sponsored by Wake Brewing in partnership with SCW Pro, Alternating Currents was originally founded in 2017 by the Downtown Davenport Partnership (DDP), a division of the Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce. The festival is powered by the Quad Cities Chamber place management team, with additional sponsors and partners including: the Regiioal Development Authority (RDA); Rhythm City Casino Resort; RubberStamps.net; GreenState Credit Union; TBK Bank; Downtown Davenport Partnership; Rock Island Downtown Alliance; and the Downtown Bettendorf Organization.

Festival organizers also extend deep thanks to: Feature Stage @ MLK Park Sponosr Estes Construction; Feature Stage @ Stompbox Sponsor Nature's Treatment of Illinois; Feature Stage @ K-Square Sponsor Palmer College of Chiropractic; Supporting Sponsors Metronet and MidAmerican Energy; Producing Partner Hive Event Consulting; Comedy Partner SchlickComedy; Media Partners: KWQC, Quad-City Times, Dispatch/Argus, Townsquare Media, and Planet 93.9; and Sponsors Quad Cities Cultural Trust, Express Employment, and Visit Quad Cities.

For more information and a full schedule of Alternating Currents happenings, visit AlternatingCurrentsQC.com.