Review: In a deluge of free entertainment, Alternating Currents 2026 flowed into a loading dock, record store and the QC’s coolest venues

The Quad Cities’ annual Alternating Currents Festival landed on a rainy weekend this year (Aug. 13-16), but the weather didn’t dampen the spirits gathering for over 200 events across Davenport, Bettendorf and Rock Island. The smiles outlasted the downpours as free music, art, comedy and film events carried on, albeit with few a cancellations, a handful of reschedules and a smattering of last-minute venue changes. Even the postponed Fourth of July fireworks show went off with a bang!

Since 2017, Alternating Currents has continued to grow into the QC area’s premiere weekend for creatives and their fans. The festival is free and packed with pop-up events. While venues like The Last Picture House and Raccoon Motel were already equipped to play movies and host concerts, respectively, seeing stages and show spaces in non-traditional venues has always been part of the fun of this free festival.

Reporting on every event would require a baseball team’s worth of writers and photographers, so the highlights of this article are merely a small section of the vast array of entertainment this weekend. I attended what I could between work and obligations, but still managed to see some thrilling acts and have a damn good time.

HAG directed by Jackie Kelly at The Last Picture House

Unlike years past, I wanted to catch at least one film from the Alternating Currents Film Festival. I am a huge fan of cinema, but music often takes priority. I know I am not alone; AC Film Fest director Michael Mehuys acknowledged that small, independent film will not draw the same crowds as some of the concerts, and so AC has multiple showings of both feature-length films and short film contestants to expand the opportunities for film-goers.

I grabbed a seat for the feature-length horror film HAG by St. Louis-based actor, writer and director Jackie Kelly. HAG sees Kelly portraying an aging escort who becomes increasingly obsessed with her looks compared to her younger competition. The film maintains a respectful view of sex work while addressing the psychological trauma of social beauty standards. Despite some extended scenes showing the lead descending into madness, the film was well done, sufficiently haunting as it gradually becomes more and more unhinged.

Prison at Raccoon Motel

Immediately after the film we hopped next door to try and catch former Quad Citizens Glurge, a guitar noise rock project now based out of Minneapolis. Unfortunately we were only able to capture the final moments of the duo’s set, but the taste had me craving more.

Following Glurge was New York City psych rockers Prison. The Drag City band plays the kind of heavy psychedelia that Hawkwind would admire, infused with motorik rhythms and wild odysseys of noise rock. This act was one of my favorites in the whole festival.

Black Note Graffiti at Stompbox Brewing

Hailing from Ann Arbor, Michigan, Black Note Graffiti play hard rock, melodic and energetic with inspirations from post-hardcore and nü-metal. While I can see the appeal of this act, and appreciate their talent and showmanship, they felt a little too polished for my tastes, though the crowd was enthusiastic.

Camp Regret at Mississippi River Distilling Co. Cocktail Lounge loading dock

One of the cooler venue adaptations is from Mississippi River Distilling Company’s downtown Davenport cocktail lounge. The building also houses the company’s bottling line and has a loading dock in the back alley which becomes an ideal stage. QC punk rockers Camp Regret entertained a dancing crowd as the mid-August heat coated attendees in sweat, even as they stood still.

The well-attended show seemed to be composed of a who’s who of the DIY music scene in the Quad Cities and about three times as many fans, already singing along to the band’s songs from their self-titled debut, released nine months ago.

Mountain Swallower at Armored Gardens

Another local band caught our attention after Camp Regret. Just a block away, on the spacious patio of Armored Gardens, Mountain Swallower attracted a large and enthusiastic crowd.

The four-piece has been around for years, but as the members have gotten older and started families, their appearances have become less frequent. When they do play, it is always a great time with a full crowd. This band remains one of my all-time favorite QC bands, blending the kind of soaring indie rock that made acts like Arcade Fire popular into moments that sound like the last half of early Black Sabbath songs, riffed-up psych-outs that have all the right punch and groove to get lost in.

Nur-D at Stompbox Brewing

We need more underground hip hop in the Quad Cities. So many promoters and venues focus on rock-oriented acts that it feels borderline criminal to fans of hip hop (me). So, I felt compelled to support this act — and it became an Alternating Currents highlight for all of the years I’ve attended or participated in the fest.

Nur-D is a Minneapolis-based hip hop act that carries the Twin Cities traditions of funk and upbeat-positive hip hop into a high energy, body-positive dance party. Nur-D is a capable emcee and singer with an ear for pop hooks. As night fell, I guess you’d call them glowing fiber wands were passed around and the crowd nearest the stage danced like crazy, myself included. More hip hop, please!

Stacked Like Pancakes at Mississippi River Distilling Co.

Back to the loading dock to check out *checks notes* a ska band!?

Yes, a ska band. Formed in 2007 around Baltimore, Stacked Like Pancakes were firmly outside of my brief fandom of ska punk, but their infectious energy matched the fun (and beers) I had been having so far. Despite the genre being something I have mostly ignored for over two decades, it reminded me how much fun the genre can be. This crowd was also energetic, and again I caught myself skanking in public as a wild combination of a thunderstorm and fireworks clashed around the performance.

Davenport’s Red, White, and Boom fireworks celebration was postponed from Independence Day weekend to this weekend, only to once again be met with inclement weather. The fireworks proceeded, however, flashing in the night sky behind us while lightning began to streak across the clouds before us, as if the fates were reintroducing me to happy music with force.

Bonnie Trash at Ragged Records/Trash Can Annie’s

The rain caused a last-minute venue shift for Bonnie Trash, originally scheduled to play an outdoor venue. Ragged Records and Trash Can Annie’s do occasionally host concerts, filling rows of vinyl records and vintage dresses with people trying to see the small space where the band can set up (right by old soul and R&B records, if you’re looking for some gems). Unfortunately, the venue didn’t offer much of a view of the performance, but the crowd and digital projection art made up for it — along with Bonnie Trash’s post-punk, which left me thoroughly impressed and reminded me of another favorite post-punk act, Savages.

Although I missed more of the festival than I would have liked, what I did see was just as delightful and enthralling as Alternating Currents has always been. The heat and unpredictable weather didn’t dampen the crowd’s energy, though maybe waylaid the mural festival a bit. It seemed like thousands of people were moving to and fro catching vendor markets, films, stand-up sets, roller derby, game shows, interesting lectures, DJ sets and possibly their new favorite bands.

The festival is easily the best annual event in the Quad Cities area, and I feel like I barely scratched the surface. I can’t wait for next year.