Alternating Currents, the Quad-Cities music, film and comedy festival, is back this weekend in downtown Davenport, Bettendorf and Rock Island. The fest is completely free to the public and happens at 44 different stages across downtown Davenport, Bettendorf and Rock Island. It's put together by the Downtown Davenport Partnership, an affiliate of the Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce.
Alisha Espey, program director for the Downtown Davenport Partnership, said Alternating Currents had grown quite a bit since the fest started in 2017. Squonk performs during the Alternating Currents Festival in the Skybridge parking lot Friday, Aug. 20, 2021, in Davenport.
At this year's festival, there are more venues and more acts than ever before. Want to see a show at a barber shop? That's possible at Allied Barber & Supply. What about a vintage shop? Pop by Ragged Records and Trash Can Annie's Vintage Clothing.
How about outdoor options? There are many, including at Kaiserslautern Square in Davenport and Schwiebert Riverfront Park in Rock Island. Restaurants like Ruby's, Armored Gardens, The Half Nelson and Front Street Brewery have multiple shows throughout the weekend too. New hosts for 2024 include boutique cinema The Last Picture House, the new film hub for Alternating Currents' film festival, and Great River Brewery, a host at the festival before the brewery closed in 2019 "It's really meaningful to us to bring (Great River) back," Espey said.
"They kept that Alternating Currents poster up from 2019 until basically a week or two before they opened (this year). "And every day we'd walk by and be like, 'We want this back so badly.' " There's also Schweibert Park in Rock Island, which Espey called a "beautiful place to see a show.
" The park will host indie singer Elizabeth Moen at 7 Thursday night. Espey also praised recurring spots like Daiquiri Factory and Mac's Tavern, which will be busy throughout the weekend. To see all of the locations involved in the fest, go to www.
alternatingcurrentsqc.com . Alternating Currents will be held from Thursday, Aug.
15, to Sunday, Aug. 18. The first performances on Thursday will start at 5 p.
m. at Front Street Taproom in Davenport (Lewis Knudsen) and Schwiebert Park in Rock Island (Justin Golden). Events run from 10 a.
m. to just past midnight on Friday and Saturday, and 10 a.m.
to 7 p.m. on Sunday.
There is so much to see at Alternating Currents this year that it can be overwhelming, but the best way to stay updated and organized is via the Alternating Currents app, which allows attendees to make their own custom schedule. In total, Alternating Currents has 16 film events showcasing 26 films; 10 comedy shows featuring 33 comedians; more than 70 makers, visual artists and vendors; over 100 concerts, 75 musical acts and 275 total musicians. Of those artists, 34% come from the Quad-Cities and another 25% of them are from within a three-hour radius.
In the future, Espey said she'd love to see more diversity in the lineup and continue to expand the roster of, currently, 84 community partners and sponsors. That number is the one Espey said she's most proud of. "What I would like to see in the future is more organizations latching onto this and using Alternating Currents as a platform," she said.
"It is a community festival." Comedian and teacher Chris Schlichting performs stand-up. Local comic Chris Schlichting helped assemble the comedy roster for the third straight year and said he's proud of the wide variety of comedians on the list.
"We have comics from all over the Midwest, people that are not only funny but just good people," Schlichting said. It all starts on Thursday night with Greg Warren performing at 8 p.m.
at the Capitol Theatre. Warren is one of the most recognizable names on the Alternating Currents lineup. He's a frequent guest on The Nate Bargatze Show and has nearly 100,000 followers on Instagram.
"In my opinion, he is one of the top five touring comics right now," Schlichting said. The Warren show will be opened by Brent Terhune, who Schlichting said is "on the verge of blowing up." The show will be a clean, family friendly comedy night, too.
It's not just about the national acts, though, Schlichting said. He's excited to show off the blossoming local comedy scene, in venues that aren't exactly comedy clubs. He booked the lineup with one motto in mind: "Everybody's a headliner.
" The Last Picture House opened in downtown Davenport in early December. After years of hosting at the Figge, the new film hub for Alternating Currents will be The Last Picture House, the downtown cinema founded by Bettendorf natives — and "A Quiet Place" creators — Scott Beck and Bryan Woods. This year, at Alternating Currents, there will be three feature films shown as part of the festival: "Paula Sands: Quad Cities Legend," a documentary about the longtime KWQC host, at 7 p.
m. Friday; "The Stream," a feature film from local production studio Fresh Films, that stars "The Office" actor Rainn Wilson, at 11 a.m.
Saturday; and "I Am Able," a documentary about a musical put on by youth with disabilities, also from Fresh Films, at 1 p.m. Saturday.
The AC film festival will be broken down into four categories: short narrative films, experimental films, documentary films and student films. Each block of films, ranging in length from 41 to 120 minutes, will be shown on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at The Last Picture House. Michael Mehuys, who manages the film festival programming, said he's excited about the range of options this year.
As a judge in the competition, he was hesitant to pick out any favorites. But he did say that attendees can expect to see everything from Muppet-style puppetry to a hitman at a birthday party. As much as we may love Hollywood blockbusters, don't discount a short film.
Mehuys pointed out the fact that Oscar-winning movie "Whiplash" once started as a short film on the festival circuit. "I think every film festival hopes that the next Oscar winner is going to come through and drop their short film off, and that'll be some great footnote in history," Mehuys said. The film weekend will culminate in an awards ceremony and social hour at 5 p.
m. Sunday at The Last Picture House. Jeffrey Loder of The Last Glimpse plays his guitar at Mac's Tavern in Davenport on Saturday, Aug.
25, 2018. Many of the musical performers at Alternating Currents are local — Subatlantic, Angela Meyer, Frozen Fructose Laundromat, Einstein's Sister and Running Man, just to name a few — and a good chunk of the outside lineup are honorary Quad-Citians who have played Alternating Currents before, like upbeat rockers Post Sex Nachos. Espey said the Missouri band would "pack everywhere they go.
" They'll be at Daiquiri Factory at 7:30 p.m. and The Last Picture House's rooftop at 11:30 p.
m. on Saturday. Indie band Hembree is also near the top of Espey's personal must-see list.
They perform at 9 p.m. Friday at Raccoon Motel, but you can expect to see them all around town.
"They've played there several times, so they kind of consider the Quad-Cities their second home," Espey said. "You'll see them bop around to Redband and go have breakfast at Tommy's Cafe. They immerse themselves in the downtown.
" Espey also singled out Paul McDonald and The Mourning Doves as a must-see act. They perform twice on Friday: at 4:30 p.m.
at Ruby's and at 8 p.m. at Stompbox Brewing.
McDonald finished in the top 10 on "American Idol" in 2011 and has played this year at Bonnaroo and the Grand Ole Opry. Espey said it's surreal to see Alternating Currents' name on the same graphics as internationally beloved venues. That's her long-term vision, though.
In a perfect future, Alternating Currents would be the next South-By-Southwest, the massive festival in Austin, Texas. Until then, Espey said she's happy with being a haven for the deep cuts. "It's a festival of discovery," she said.
"Davenport's already a great place if you're an artist that's up and coming. There's an environment of people here who will support somebody that doesn't have name recognition." "So we just kind of took that and embraced it.
" Because there's no way to predict turnout, Espey said that the real joy comes when — after months of work, social media buzz and building the "puzzle" that is the schedule — she gets to see it all come to life. "I don't feel the magic until we're on the ground," she said. "Our mission is different than just putting on a cool festival.
It has a purpose beyond that." Alternating Currents Festival learning Indigo dyeing cloth at Allied Barber & Supplies Saturday in Davenport. The a form of dyeing cloth, and still utilized heavily today.
Attendees were given a choice between a natural cotton bandana, or t-shirt with all of the tools and instruction to make interesting patterns on their item of choice. Travis Vanzuden of Davenport folds his cloth for dyeing. Laura Wriedt of Rock Island and Jennifer Saintfort of Rock Island dip their cloths for dyeing as instructor Russ Maidlow starts to hang completed pieces.
Veronica Spriggs of Davenport forms her cloth to be ready for dyeing during the Alternating Currents Festival learning Indigo dyeing cloth Saturday, Aug. 20, 2022, at Allied Barber & Supplies Saturday in Davenport. Instructor Russ Maidlow of Davenport hangs customers dyeing cloths up for drying during the Alternating Currents Festival learning Indigo dyeing cloth at Allied Barber & Supplies Saturday in Davenport.
The a form of dyeing cloth, and still utilized heavily today. Attendees were given a choice between a natural cotton bandana, or t-shirt with all of the tools and instruction to make interesting patterns on their item of choice. Russ Maidlow of Davenport hangs customers' dyeing cloths for drying.
A bucket with blue indigo dye is ready for people to dip their cloth project into. Instructor Russ Maidlow of Davenport hangs customers dyeing cloths up for drying during the Alternating Currents Festival learning Indigo dyeing cloth at Allied Barber & Supplies Saturday in Davenport. The a form of dyeing cloth, and still utilized heavily today.
Attendees were given a choice between a natural cotton bandana, or t-shirt with all of the tools and instruction to make interesting patterns on their item of choice. People participate in Alternating Currents Festival learning Indigo dyeing cloth Saturday at Allied Barber & Supplies in Davenport. Madeline Luloff of Rock Island hangs up her Indigo dyeing cloth to dry during at the Alternating Currents Festival learning Indigo dyeing cloth at Allied Barber & Supplies Saturday in Davenport.
The a form of dyeing cloth, and still utilized heavily today. Attendees were given a choice between a natural cotton bandana, or t-shirt with all of the tools and instruction to make interesting patterns on their item of choice. Madeline Luloff of Rock Island hangs up her Indigo dyeing cloth to dry during at the Alternating Currents Festival learning Indigo dyeing cloth at Allied Barber & Supplies Saturday in Davenport.
The a form of dyeing cloth, and still utilized heavily today. Attendees were given a choice between a natural cotton bandana, or t-shirt with all of the tools and instruction to make interesting patterns on their item of choice. Abbey and Caleb Gatheright of Rock Island prepare their rolled up cloths for dyeing during the Alternating Currents Festival learning Indigo dyeing cloth at Allied Barber & Supplies Saturday in Davenport.
The a form of dyeing cloth, and still utilized heavily today. Attendees were given a choice between a natural cotton bandana, or t-shirt with all of the tools and instruction to make interesting patterns on their item of choice. Abbey and Caleb Gatheright of Rock Island hang their dyed cloths for drying during the Alternating Currents Festival in August 2022.
Laura Wriedt of Rock Island holds her dyeing cloth that is ready to be hung up to dry. Veronica Spriggs of Davenport helps Trevor Milne of Davenport with his Indigo dyeing project during the Alternating Currents Festival learning Indigo dyeing cloth at Allied Barber & Supplies Saturday in Davenport. The a form of dyeing cloth, and still utilized heavily today.
Attendees were given a choice between a natural cotton bandana, or t-shirt with all of the tools and instruction to make interesting patterns on their item of choice. Veronica Spriggs of Davenport helps Trevor Milne of Davenport with his Indigo dyeing project during the Alternating Currents Festival learning Indigo dyeing cloth at Allied Barber & Supplies Saturday in Davenport. The a form of dyeing cloth, and still utilized heavily today.
Attendees were given a choice between a natural cotton bandana, or t-shirt with all of the tools and instruction to make interesting patterns on their item of choice. Jennifer Saintfort of Rock Island looks over her finished dyeing cloth project Saturday, Aug. 20, 2022, at the Alternating Currents Festival learning Indigo dyeing cloth at Allied Barber & Supplies in Davenport.
This form of dyeing cloth still is utilized heavily today. Attendees were given a choice between a natural cotton bandana or T-shirt, with all of the tools and instructions to make interesting patterns on their item of choice. Madeline Luloff of Rock Island unfolds her dyeing cloth project during the Alternating Currents Festival learning Indigo dyeing cloth at Allied Barber & Supplies Saturday in Davenport.
The a form of dyeing cloth, and still utilized heavily today. Attendees were given a choice between a natural cotton bandana, or t-shirt with all of the tools and instruction to make interesting patterns on their item of choice. Madeline Luloff of Rock Island unfolds her dyeing cloth project during the Alternating Currents Festival learning Indigo dyeing cloth at Allied Barber & Supplies Saturday in Davenport.
The a form of dyeing cloth, and still utilized heavily today. Attendees were given a choice between a natural cotton bandana, or t-shirt with all of the tools and instruction to make interesting patterns on their item of choice. Madeline Luloff of Rock Island unfolds her dyeing cloth project during the Alternating Currents Festival learning Indigo dyeing cloth at Allied Barber & Supplies Saturday in Davenport.
The a form of dyeing cloth, and still utilized heavily today. Attendees were given a choice between a natural cotton bandana, or t-shirt with all of the tools and instruction to make interesting patterns on their item of choice. Caleb Gatheright of Rock Island shows off his Indigo dyeing T-shirt at the Alternating Currents Festival learning Indigo dyeing cloth at Allied Barber & Supplies Saturday in Davenport.
The a form of dyeing cloth, and still utilized heavily today. Attendees were given a choice between a natural cotton bandana, or t-shirt with all of the tools and instruction to make interesting patterns on their item of choice. Jennifer Saintfort of Rock Island looks over her finished dyeing cloth project at the Alternating Currents Festival learning Indigo dyeing cloth at Allied Barber & Supplies Saturday in Davenport.
The a form of dyeing cloth, and still utilized heavily today. Attendees were given a choice between a natural cotton bandana, or t-shirt with all of the tools and instruction to make interesting patterns on their item of choice. Receive the latest in local entertainment news in your inbox weekly! Entertainment Reporter {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
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