Sure, you might have more opportunity to see your favorite band or singer at an arena, but you can't beat the intimacy of seeing them live at a theater. Instead of being part of the crowd, you're up close and personal with the band on stage. 

Good acoustics are hard to find, but they’re absolutely essential for any venue hosting live music. For example, there’s nothing worse than sitting in a huge stadium and hearing muffled feedback from performers on stage because sound can’t travel very far without bouncing off walls and ceilings. A good venue must have no reflective surfaces - otherwise called live acoustics.

And theatres have the BEST sound!

We, in the Quad Cities, are very lucky to have several great places to see live music.  And while the Adler Theatre didn't make the list this year...a couple places within driving distance have made the global list of great theatres.

Yes GLOBAL domination!

Pollstar recently released their Top 100 Theatres in the world.  Included in the list:

  • The McGrath Amphitheatre in Cedar Rapids came in #31
  • The Paramount Theatre in Cedar Rapids came in #41
  • Not for nothing, Peoria Civic Center Theatre came in #97.

The Paramount is a theatre that hosts everyone from Steel Panther to David Crosby...Blues Traveler to The Pork Tornadoes.

McGrath Amphitheatre played host to everyone from Foreigner & Billy Idol to Weird Al Yankovic and Boys II Men.

And while it'll be hard to beat out the Ryman in Nashville...it's still a treasure to have these within our reach with an easy drive from the Quad Cities. Time to start planning a road trip to enjoy these world class theatres.

The Best Illinois Concert Venues

With concerts back in full swing, we give you the best venues for seeing live music in Illinois. Any missing? Send the name of the venue and some of your pictures to ryan.mccredden@townsquaremedia.com.
After looking at the Illinois venues, check out the Iowa venues here.

Quad City Pumpkin Patches

It's pumpkin pickin' time in the Quad Cities. Pumpkins make great fall decorations and they are obviously fun to carve. If buying a pumpkin at a store doesn't cut it and you want the full experience of a pumpkin patch, we have the full list of pumpkin patches throughout the Quad Cities. If we are missing any local pumpkin patches, email us here.

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