Music and Community Spotlighted in New Podcast

River Music Experience (RME) is taking a closer look behind the music in the Quad Cities region.  In addition to their new digital educational content, RME is joining the podcast sphere with a new weekly show.

Chrissy Boyer, who has been with RME for four years, explained they are trying something new in order to share what’s going on in music from a local perspective.  The podcast will be focused on music, but guests won’t always be local musicians.  The podcast, produced by Underground Economy, will also talk to people connected to the music scene.  A local musician herself, Chrissy has performed and worked with podcast host Al Sweet.

All-Sweat Productions started with musician Al Sweet getting his friends together to play classic covers.  It expanded from there to local musicians covering whole albums and then the Woodstock anniversary festival in 2019, when local musicians played the some of the sets performed at Woodstock interspersed with local bands playing their own music.

“2020 was hard when everything just came to a screeching halt after so many recent wins leading up to the start of the pandemic,” Chrissy says.  “The podcast is just in its beginning stages and it’s a way to share why music is so important to the Quad Cities.  We’re looking forward to the return of more live music shows, not just to our venue, but everywhere.”

Even in the midst of the pandemic, RME has found a way to reach people through music.  Every weekday at 3:30 pm, there is a live Music Lab on their Facebook page about various music topics.  Their popular Rock Camp still took place this summer with safety precautions and an outdoor concert.  The new Curbside Concerts with people scheduling musicians to play in their yards and driveways proved to be really popular and will continue into 2021.

The new All Sweat Podcast, powered by River Music Experience, is a weekly show focused on music and the community that supports it.  It’s currently available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and WVIK, Quad Cities NPR app. Search “The All Sweat Podcast” on Apple Podcasts or listen on Spotify here.

Also, if you’re in downtown Davenport, be sure to check out the new colorful mural on the Main Street side of the RME building.  The large mural panels were painted by local students as part of the Quad City Arts Metro Arts youth program. This is just one large panel of the mural on the outside of the building.