Paper Jams

The warming-up voice of Johnny Delaware, frontman of The Artisanals, echoed from the first-floor restroom of the Quad-City Times building a few minutes after the band arrived. After offering a hug and hello, the smiley Delaware said his voice doesn't work well in the morning and he needed al the warm-up time he could get. The band is based in Charleston, South Carolina and drove this August morning from St. Louis to play a Paper Jams session at the Quad-City Times ahead of a two-day festival with other Charleston bands, such as Susto, at Codfish Hollow, the Maquoketa venue that Delaware declared the best in the country. Delaware must've made an impromptu decision to make up for his "morning voice" -- he, along with Clay Houle, made the set not feel so acoustic (Look for the guitar solo at the 5 minute mark). At the end of their two songs, Delaware apologized to online and in-person viewers for his voice sounding like “garbage” in the morning, to which his bandmate remarked, “You need to stop saying it’s morning. It’s 1 o’ clock.” To us, it sounded great all the same.

In honor of the first day of the 99th annual Mississippi Valley Fair, country artist Jake McVey stopped by the Quad-City Times newsroom. The Burlington, Iowa native and current resident of Nashville, Tennessee sings like a pop-country purist with lyrics shouting out Templeton Rye whiskey, John Deere tractors and a tune all about falling in love at a red light. Even in an acoustic setting, he is also a true performer asking, after two songs, if the small crowd of Quad-City Times staffers would like to hear another one. A viewer on Facebook Live chimed in with an enthusiastic, "Yeeeaaah!" McVey and his bandmates were in town to play the fair and had a busy stretch of shows ahead of them including a stop at the Ohio State Fair in Columbus as well as a set at Big Grove Brewery in Iowa City. On his way out, McVey said he'd surely be back in the "neighborhood" soon.

During one of the year's busiest weekend for the Quad-City Times' staff and parking lot, the members of the Nashville-based indie pop band Frances Cone navigated their way -- by foot -- from sound check at a nearby venue to the newsroom. With some commotion surrounding the impending start of the Jr. Bix, a series of short road races for kids located just outside the building, we made an impromptu Paper Jams location change to a calmer office space just next door. Frances Cone played two acoustic songs, "Unraveling," and "Keep It Movin'," before going on their way back to the Triple Crown Whiskey Bar & Raccoon Motel for their 8 p.m. show. The next morning, the streets of Davenport were full of thousands of people participating in and watching the 44th annual Quad-City Times Bix 7.

Marah in the Mainsail, a band from Minneapolis, played in the Quad-City Times newsroom on Tuesday, June 12.

The Way Down Wanderers kicked off our Paper Jams series on May 4.

Yes You Are joined us in the Quad-City Times newsroom for a Paper Jams concert. The group drove in from Kansas City, where they're based, on a Friday for a show at the Triple Crown Whiskey Bar & Raccoon Motel and squeezed in a stop in the newsroom on Saturday morning on their way out of town. Yes, Saturday morning as in the front doors were locked and no one was in the building. So, it was an extra-intimate Paper Jams. These three musicians -- led by vocalist Kianna Alarid -- were up for whatever and didn't seem to mind playing for an audience of two. Yes You Are p[ayed three songs for myself and my editor, Codell Rodriguez, including their hit "HGX," which you may have heard in Pepsi's Superbowl 51 commercial as well as the movie, "Bad Moms." It was a great Saturday morning.

Written by Amanda Hancock, a reporter with the Quad-City Times

Yes You Are played this Paper Jams at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 26.

Lissie was on the phone when I walked outside to greet her in front of the Quad-City Times building. Her pick-up truck, which she named Pearl, was parked and she was carrying her guitar. She saw me, offered a big hug and mouthed a "Hello." When the call was over, Lissie explained she had a long list of things to sort out ahead of her trips to Tennessee for Bonnaroo and to Norway. But she was happy to drive across the river from her parents' house in Rock Island for a visit in the newsroom. After we took the elevator up the steps, she sat down on the green chair, kicked off her Birkenstocks and took a few more sips of a can of LaCroix that she brought with her. She played two songs, "Blood & Muscle" and "Best Days" off of her latest album, "Castles. Her voice completely filled up the room and her bare feet moved around as she sang and, at times, it looked like she wanted to stand. At some point during the eight minutes we were live, I had to remind myself to not worry about the Internet connection or anything that was going wrong and just enjoy seeing one of my favorite artists so up-close and stripped down.

I've been reporting on music for the Quad-City Times for two and a half years, so I think I can say with confidence that Lissie is a Quad-City musical icon. Just about everyone involved in the music scene here knows her songs, loves her voice and her "Pursuit of Happiness" cover. What I've come to know, after a handful of interviews with Lissie, is that the person behind the music is just as likable as the music. Lissie was in town over the weekend to host and headline the 7th annual Laura's Legacy benefit concert, which she started to honor the memory of her aunt Laura. It's the one occasion per year that Lissie counts on being back in her hometown, though she has been able to spend more time here since moving from California to a farm in northeast Iowa about two years ago. This summer, Quad-Citians also have a chance to see Lissie headline a Fourth of July show at Codfish Hollow in Maquoketa, Iowa. After playing for our Facebook page and a small crowd in the newsroom, Lissie slipped her sandals back on and thanked everyone for listening. We walked back outside together and she said she was off to visit her sister and nephews and nieces while she was on this side of the river. "I'm sure there will be another reason soon for us to talk," she said, before saying, "See you later." She got back into Pearl and drove away.

Written by Amanda Hancock, Quad-City Times

Photo by Andy Abeyta, Quad-City Times

Lissie performed at 2 p.m. Monday, June 4, 2018.

Singer-songwriter/fiddler Lille Mae and her brother, Frank, played "Manzanita," "Loaner" and "These Days," at the Quad-City Times. The final two song were off of Lille Mae's full-length debut album, called "Forever and Then Some." When it was released last year by Jack White's label, Third Man Records, music critics quickly put Lille Mae on a bunch of those "Artists to Watch," lists. And I think everyone in the newsroom -- and the 10,000 people who watched the video on Facebook over the weekend -- could see why. Something lovely and special happened when Lille Mae started singing and when she turned the fiddle to play it like a guitar. They live in Nashville now, but they were born in Illinois, so Lille Mae and Frank say that, after this, they're going to go hang out with their father. Several members of their family were also due to show up at Lillie Mae's show at the Triple Crown Whiskey Bar & Raccoon Motel. They left with more smiles and directions to a nearby record store. They love playing in Davenport, Lille Mae said. To them, it feels close to home.

It was 2 p.m. on a Monday, about the time I would typically be craving some afternoon caffeine, when Elizabeth Moen sent me a message on Facebook saying, “I’m outside!”

The singer-songwriter, who is originally from Shellsburg, Iowa, and is now based in Iowa City, drove into the Quad-Cities a few hours ahead of her scheduled show at the Triple Crown Whiskey Bar & Raccoon Motel, a venue just down the road, to play a few songs in our newsroom.

We talked about where to get discount shoes while she set up and a few minutes later, her songs made me forget about everything else around me. When I shared the video later, I added the caption "Goosebumps," because that's the effect her lyrics, guitar playing and voice had on me. (It's even stronger at her live shows).

Her confidence is cool and quiet. She chit-chats like an old friend. When she sings, though, you get a feeling as if you're in the company of an artist that every person you know should also know her.

Here, she plays "Tell Me When," "Catch You" and "Red."

If you ever get the chance to see her live, I wouldn't wait on it.

Singer-songwriter/fiddler Lille Mae and her brother, Frank, played "Manzanita," "Loaner" and "These Days," at the Quad-City Times. The final two song were off of Lille Mae's full-length debut album, called "Forever and Then Some." When it was released last year by Jack White's label, Third Man Records, music critics quickly put Lille Mae on a bunch of those "Artists to Watch," lists. And I think everyone in the newsroom -- and the 10,000 people who watched the video on Facebook over the weekend -- could see why. Something lovely and special happened when Lille Mae started singing and when she turned the fiddle to play it like a guitar. They live in Nashville now, but they were born in Illinois, so Lille Mae and Frank say that, after this, they're going to go hang out with their father. Several members of their family were also due to show up at Lillie Mae's show at the Triple Crown Whiskey Bar & Raccoon Motel. They left with more smiles and directions to a nearby record store. They love playing in Davenport, Lille Mae said. To them, it feels close to home.