Common Chord kicks off events, raises funds with party June 2

Common Chord will host its OneSound Piano Program again this summer
Niabi Zoo visitors enjoy the piano placed at the Coal Valley zoo through Common Chord’s OneSound Piano Program. Launched last year, the program provides more music, art and interaction to public spaces throughout the QC. CREDIT COMMON CHORD

Common Chord will host a block party from 5 to 8 p.m., Friday, June 2, at Laborspace, next to Rozz-Tox and Ragged Records in downtown Rock Island. The party kicks off its annual Live At 5 summer concert series, launches this year’s OneSound Piano Project and raises funds for the Quad City Community Foundation’s QC Disaster Recovery Fund. 

“Our hearts are with those affected by the building collapse earlier this week, and especially with those still searching for missing loved ones,” Tyson Danner, Common Chord’s executive director, said in a news release.  

“While it is important for us to continue to gather as a community, highlight arts and culture and be moved by live music, our first priority is to ensure that first responders can do their important work and that we do not create any further traffic or safety issues in downtown Davenport,” he said of the new concert location. 

Common Chord is thankful for its partnership with the Rock Island Downtown Alliance, the City of Rock Island, and downtown businesses and residents for helping provide an alternate location for the party with short notice. 

Free-will donations will be collected for the Disaster Recovery Fund, which has been activated to support households directly affected by The Davenport apartment building’s collapse, according to the release. 

“Our motto is ‘more music, more community,’” Mr. Danner said. “This is a moment where we hope to show the power of music to draw people together as a community and to generate support for those who need help.” 

The block party will feature live bands, beverages from Bent River Brewing Company, free children’s face painting, animal balloons and community cultural partners from across the Quad Cities offering information about summer programs. The partners include: Quad City Symphony Orchestra, Putnam Museum & Science Center, Figge Art Museum, Quad City Botanical Center, Quad City Arts, Davenport Parks & Recreation/Junior Theater, German American Heritage Center, Bix Jazz Society, Bix Beiderbecke Museum, Lincoln Center, Azubuike Arts Council and Mississippi Valley Blues Society, according to the release. 

No outside food or alcohol is permitted. 

The summer concert series will take place at Laborspace from 5 to 7 p.m., June 9, and organizers will later determine future Live At 5 locations. To see this year’s lineup, visit commonchordqc.org.   

Also returning to the area this summer is Common Chord’s OneSound Piano Program, which strategically places pianos designed by artists throughout the area to bring more music, art and interaction to our community’s public spaces, the release states.   

In addition to last year’s designs, the artists selected for this year’s project include: Elizabeth Masterson, Sarah Robb, Amanda Stout, and Bill and Kevin Wohlford. 

Pianos will be placed at:

  • Niabi Zoo, Coal Valley
  • Sound Conservatory, Rock Island 
  • Freight House Farmers’ Market, Davenport 
  • Quad Cities International Airport, Moline
  • Runner’s Park / Main Street, East Moline
  • Antique Archaeology, LeClaire
  • Quad City Botanical Center, Rock Island 
  • Mercado on Fifth, Moline
  • VanderVeer Botanical Park, Davenport
  • Quad Cities Waterfront Convention Center, Bettendorf 
  • Lincoln Center, Davenport
  • Bass Street Landing, Moline
  • Center for Active Seniors, Davenport
  • Redstone Building, Davenport

Pianos will be placed beginning the week of June 5 and remain on display through next May.  

Partial support for the program comes from supporting program sponsors including: Iowa Arts Council, Quad City Arts, Pierce’s Promise, Davenport Riverfront Improvement Commission, Quad Cities International Airport and Davenport Parks & Recreation. 

For more information, visit commonchordqc.org/one

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