Get ready to rock with young artists in Rock Island

Posted by Larita Shotwell on Wednesday, March 27, 2024

QC Rock Academy will host the second-annual Quad Cities Youth Music & Arts Festival on Saturday, Sept. 16th from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Rock Island’s beautiful Schwiebert Riverfront Park.

The event will feature nearly 75 of the area’s most talented youth musicians and artists. QC Rock Academy director Greg Hipskind reached out to other area arts organizations to get their students involved as well.

The event lineup will include seven student bands from the QC Rock Academy plus solo singers. The Spotlight Theatre in Moline will have kids from their upcoming “School of Rock” musical (Sept. 29-Oct. 8). Midwest Writing Center will have students performing spoken word original works and the Quad Cities Music Therapy Center will have solo artists and a drum group from Gigi’s Playhouse performing.

There will also be individual visual artists (Liyah York, Daisy Blunt, and Amelia House) with booths displaying and selling their work. 

The music schedule for Saturday is:

QC Rock Academy received a Quad City Arts Dollars grant this year and with the help of their sponsors, they are able to keep this a free community event, Hipskind said. He thanked Rock Island Parks & Recreation, Radicle Effect Brewerks, Vibrant Credit Union, HAVlife Quad Cities, Iowa Rock n Roll Music Association, I-Rock 93.5 and Common Chord.

There will also be a guitar raffle and 50/50 raffles to help raise money for the QC Rock Academy’s scholarship fund. The fund helps pay for lessons and instruments for students that need assistance. 

Rock Island Parks and Recreation will have the grill fired up serving burgers, brats and hot dogs as well as drinks, candy and snacks. Bring a lawn chair and enjoy one of the last nice weekends outside for the year.

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