Photographed & Written by: Matthew Terry
To many, winter is more than just a word, and while it may help describe a season that suggests seclusion and chattering teeth, here in the Midwest, a mere mention of that word is enough to send chills down our spines in late July. It’s a time for balance, rediscovery, and rest, as we await the reviving nature of March and the promise of a spring so close that we can smell the impending thunderstorms sitting on the horizon just out of sight. They will come to return the green to the fields which temporarily lost their color, and we followed suit, but the sun has started to shine a bit later these days and it has us stepping back out from the shadows. With the promise of warmer days comes the return of outdoor music festivals, and while we haven’t quite gotten there yet, the energy and atmosphere of that feeling has arrived in the form of this year’s “Spring Thing” which illuminated the Stardust with local music and art on March 22nd in downtown Davenport.
This is the second annual installment of this celebration of local artistic expression curated by The Textures (Make sure you check out their recent interview with The Echo) and the first one to be held at The Stardust. Much like last year, this collaboration between local artists is designed to help shake free the waning weight of winter, and having finally moved from the darkest season into Spring, the restlessness of the masses is palpable. The excess energy we have been harboring through the coldest days is ready to break free, and there’s not much better way to find that freedom than dancing along with some of your favorite people to your favorite local acts while cruising through the creations of crafty individuals who also call this bend in the river home.
This year expanded from the 2024 fest, and while it included Chicago’s Old Shoe, the namesake for the legendary Shoe Fest that has become a yearly staple for many involved in the jam/Americana/bluegrass scene, the schedule was also full of Quad City regulars, including Rude Punch and Garrin Jost, who I would hope many of you readers would know from the undeniable force that is Mountain Swallower. While familiar faces filled the stage all night, the event was kicked off by some new faces for many, though the cheers from the crowd would prove that these teenage musicians are already building a formidable following. QC Rock Academy’s Mental Riot and Mercury’s Crown, both of which have been getting their licks in opening shows at The Rust Belt in East Moline this winter, got things going Saturday with a style and musical prowess I wish I possessed in my youth. They commanded the stage in a way that surely exceeded their age. It’s reassuring to see the younger generation so passionate about not only their pursuits but also supporting their peers. As a kid that grew up in a different version of this local scene, and watching it evolve, that kind of support is key. Both of these groups have begun placing themselves prominently into the local sound space, and I would say the future of QC music is in good hands.
Mercury’s Crown
Mercury’s Crown
Mental Riot
Mental Riot
Following the new faces, Garrin Jost took the stage. Musically speaking I have been familiar with Garrin’s work longer than anyone else on the bill. This is a great example of what makes this area we call home so great. You can watch an artist you’ve been a fan of for a decade following a group of talented individuals that most are seeing for the first time, and the audience is equally attentive to both. From a performance that began with an unintentional nod to Andy Kaufman, he effortlessly moved into his first song. As the idle chatter, now a soundtrack of white noise, began dissipating down to nothing, Garrin took the energy from the first two sets and transformed the room to his own rhythm, easily controlling this large space with only his voice, a guitar, and songs that had me singing along in between captures. As musicians pass each other on the stairs to the stage, it’s easier to recognize the fact that there’s not as much of a division between new names and local legends as one could be led to believe. Art and expression bridge the gap of generations in ways the rest of the world could learn from.
Garrin Jost and a fan
Garrin Jost
Speaking of legendary local acts, the only Quad City band I’m aware of that ever got an energy drink named after them, Rude Punch, was next to grace the Stardust stage. While we are on energy, Rude Punch indeed brought it. The band came complete with a front row of family, and the dancing that would soon fill the night had begun to take shape as the reggae rock sound they’ve come to be known for reverberated from the speakers.
Rude Punch
Rude Punch
A mix of originals and a cover of Scarlet Begonias complete with guest guitar work from The Textures’ Justin Behn kept the crowd’s attention through the halfway point of performers, as people perused the plethora of local goods from a variety of vendors, which included eye-catching apparel from The Light Within, Kalvva, and Death Stitch Clothing, paintings from Shayla Ray Art and Atlanta Dawn, and jewelry from The Silly Little Studio.
With a sound that far exceeds the excitement their name might suggest, Old Shoe then took over with the control of a band that has stood on more stages than many attendees have stood in front of. That confidence was transferred to a crowd of stomping boots and a frenzy of feet in motion as attendees took turns shuffling from one side of the stage to the other showcasing their best steps. Old Shoe is no stranger to this area, as they’ve made several appearances here since they came together well over a decade ago in Chicago. A band so entrenched in the scene traveling to and playing this event truly shows the level of respect they have for The Textures and the Quad City music scene as a whole. The festival feeling was in full force, and it fit the crowd like a well-worn moccasin.
Old Shoe
Old Shoe
The night came to a close with the band that was to thank for this entire Saturday spent shaking the winter blues from our bones, The Textures. While they had played earlier in the day, doing a more intimate set from the comfort of the couch and chairs of a temporary “living room” casually placed within the confines of The Stardust, the headline slot is the party the crowd came to partake in. The sun had long ago called it for the day, and the children that earlier stood enthralled by the performers on stage had followed suit. The soulful sounds spilling from the stage cut through the spinning celebrators, as smiles were traded amid this solace from our daily surroundings.
The Textures with guest Bret Dale
The Textures with guests Bret Dale and CJ Parker
The Textures vocalist Kelsey Kays with bassist Justin Fisher
So often we find ourselves stuck focusing on faulty views, but looking around the room, resting upon the peak of an equinox that brings with it warm promises, the warmth of renewed connections was impossible to miss. Art has a way of taking all these seemingly disparate pieces and finding a rhythm that reminds us we aren’t nearly as alone as we may believe at times. This musical unification unfolded on stage as several guests joined in with The Textures, including Jacob Palmer, Bret Dale, and CJ Parker, who took the vocal reigns on an unbelievable rendition of Prince’s “I Wanna Be Your Lover.” If you left early and missed the latter half of the set, you missed some of the night’s best performances, but of course, that is to take nothing from the rest of the event.
The Textures’ Justin Behn on guitar
CJ Parker (foreground) joins The Textures for a guest appearance with guitarist Bret Dale (background)
Justin Fisher (bass) and Kyle Goldsmith (drums)
The Textures close out Spring Thing 2025
It’s never lost on me, the amount of talent which not only breathes deeply from the lungs of this midwestern mash-up we call the Quad Cities, but can go unnoticed at times. It’s so easy to become stuck in our heads, to succumb to darker thoughts during the darker months, which is exactly why events like this are necessary. It revitalizes the artists and attendees in ways which I can’t quite explain, and that is precisely what good art is meant to do: to be felt deeply despite being difficult to pinpoint. That is what keeps us coming back for more. We all long to find a community, and it’s incredibly important to support those who put in the time and passion to create these communities and the spaces they can continue to grow within. Because without them the arts suffer, and the community suffers, and there’s enough suffering already. Now more than ever we need a reason to come together to discover common ground. This past weekend, that was found, and we were all better for it.