The Alternating Currents festival is returning to the Quad Cities this weekend, stretching across four days and various venues, providing a healthy mix of art, film, comedy, and music for folks to check out. Although we expect everything to be amazing and wonderful, we are Serious Music People and want to flag these five shows that are on our radar this weekend.
You can find the full schedule of events for Alternating Currents, and download their app, at their website. All of the events at Alternating Currents are free, and unless otherwise noted, all of the venues listed below are in Davenport.
Katy Guillen & The Drive
Friday, 8/19 at 5:30 at Up Skybar at the Current Hotel
Friday, 8/20 at 9:00 at Stompbox Brewing
This self-described “indie soul band” from Kansas City are no strangers to Iowa: they’ve already played the Iowa Arts Festival this year, and will be at xBk next week. Their full-length debut album, “Another One Gained,” comes out on Friday. How cool that they’ll be in Iowa on their album release day! You’ve got TWO chances to catch Katy Guillen and The Drive during Alternating Currents on Friday — at the Current Hotel at 5:30 p.m., and Stompbox Brewing at 9 p.m.
Soultru
Saturday, 8/20 at 4:30 at Kaiserslautern Square
Although there are some great artists coming from out of town, most of the artists on the festival lineup are from the Quad Cities area, including Davenport’s Soultru. As you might have guessed from his name, he’s a very soulful singer and effortlessly combines acoustic guitar, beat, and rap/hip-hop in his music. We’re eagerly awaiting Soultru’s next project, a collaboration with Iowa City’s Jim Swim.
Pollinators
Saturday, 8/20 at 3:30 at Stompbox Brewing
Saturday, 8/20 at 8:30 at Mac’s Tavern
The Illinois side of the Quad Cities for years now has been home to a lot of bands putting out great music for years. One of those bands are Pollinators, from Moline, combining indie rock sounds with pop sensibilities. They released the album, “Good Ear,” earlier in 2022, and it’s a great listen for fans of Guided By Voices, Pavement, and other classic indie artists. Pollinators will be playing two shows on Saturday.
Centaur Noir / Subatlantic / Tambourine
Sunday, 8/21 at 4:00 at Laborspace/Rozz-Tox Courtyard in Rock Island
I’m totally cheating by putting three bands in one slot, but they’re all playing at the same show, so I couldn’t help myself. Centaur Noir is the solo project of Moline’s Jon Burns, and Subatlantic are a band from Rock Island. Both are favorites of ours at Studio One. We’re less familiar with Tambourine, but a quick trip to their Bandcamp page has us wanting to hear more. This should be a great night of music, running the gamut from guitar-based indie rock, to moody ‘80s style rock, to electronic dance music that should keep the crowd on their feet the whole time.
Aaron Lee Tasjan
Sunday, 8/21 at 8:00 at Raccoon Motel
The music of Aaron Lee Tasjan (pronounced “TAZ-jen”) is more than it appears to be at first glance. While primarily an Americana singer, Tasjan’s songs reveal indie and psychedelic influences as well, and also touch on somewhat non-traditional subjects for Americana music, such as social media addiction and sexual fluidity. The Nashville-based Tasjan will be closing out Alternating Currents at the Raccoon Motel on Sunday night.
