Alternating Currents Venues Announced

This year’s Alternating Currents festival is expanding its reach to a variety of venues in three Downtown Quad Cities: Davenport, Rock Island and Moline. 

Alternating Currents, scheduled for Aug. 19-22, is a collaborative festival taking place at more than 30 venues across our Quad Cities downtowns, including 25 locations in downtown Davenport. Alternating Currents will showcase more than 120 live performances including musical acts, film screenings, comedy and art-related events. More than 60 national and regional acts, of all sizes, will perform over the four-day festival.  

Now in its fourth year, Alternating Currents is organized by the Downtown Davenport Partnership (DDP), a division of the Quad Cities Chamber, in collaboration with local talent across our region’s creative community. 

“Alternating Currents allows us to showcase the businesses downtown and what they have to offer while simultaneously providing great entertainment across our downtowns,” said Jason Gilliland, Director of Events for DDP.

All Alternating Currents performances are free to attend. Visitors are encouraged to travel from one venue to the next -- easily identifiable by their yellow Alternating Currents venue signage. New this year, complimentary pedi-cab rides are being offered to help transport festival goers from one venue to the next. The festival has a variety of indoor and outdoor venues with space to keep a safe distance. In between performances, festival-goers can explore our walkable Downtown Quad Cities and experience all the other restaurants, shops, bars and other entertainment venues. 

In downtown Davenport, 25 venues will host music, film, comedy and art experiences.

The venues include:

• Armored Gardens
• City Church
• Devon's Complaint Department
• Davenport Public Library
• Eastern Iowa Community Colleges (EICC) Urban Campus
• Figge Art Museum
• Front Street Pub and Eatery
• Front Street Brewery & Taproom
• Kaiserslautern Square
• Kilkenny’s Pub
• LeClaire Park
• Lopiez
• Mac’s Tavern
• Main St. Landing
• Mockingbird on Main
• Modern Woodmen Park
• Raccoon Motel
• Radisson Quad-City Plaza
• RiverCenter (Crafty Cat: The Quad Cities’ Indie Art Fest)
• River Music Experience Courtyard
• Ragged Records
• Ruby’s
• Skybridge
• StompBox Brewing
• UP Skybar at The Current Hotel

​Downtown Rock Island, which joins the festival for the first time, will host events at six venues: 

• The Circa 21 Speakeasy 
• Holiday Inn Rock Island
• Quad City Arts
• Rock Island Brewing Company
• Rozz Tox
• The Spot

In addition, Moline’s Bass Street Landing joins the venue line-up for this year’s Alternating Currents.

Festival-goers who download Alternating Currents’ new app will have easy access to a complete schedule of events as well as a map of the downtown venues. To download the app, visit alternatingcurrentsqc.com.  

This year’s festival is presented by the Regional Development Authority (RDA) and GreenState Credit Union. 

COVID-19 protocols:

The Alternating Currents festival looks forward to hosting an entertaining and safe event in the Quad Cities. We are closely monitoring current CDC guidelines and local health department information regarding the status of COVID-19 in the region. As in any public place where people are present, there is an inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19. We encourage attendees to wear masks indoors in all public areas and participate in festival activities that fit your level of comfort. Each individual establishment will determine the COVID-19 guidelines for its business. 

About Downtown Davenport Partnership:

DDP, an affiliate of Quad Cities Chamber, provides place management services for downtown Davenport’s business improvement district (Self-Supporting-Municipal Improvement District, or SSMID). Its focus encompasses three pillars of work: business & economic growth, infrastructure & livability, and advocacy & promotion.