The Quad City Arts new Visiting Artist Series – its 50th season – kicked off this week, and will showcase a public concert Saturday, Oct. 7, with the West African fusion band ADAAWE.

This is the 50th season for Quad City Arts’ Visiting Artist Series, which began in 1974.

Students attending their residency activities will get to hear, feel, and learn about the power of music from ADAAWE, a band of seven women from five countries, according to a Quad City Arts news release.

The band is a powerful ensemble of women who transcend boundaries and defy expectations. Their name itself is deeply rooted in the Yoruba tradition and means “collective voice.” This collective voice brings together rhythms, harmonies, and stories from their diverse backgrounds, spanning from West Africa to America.

Deriving from West African roots, Gospel harmonies and American funk, the women-led group ADAAWE creates a global fusion, according to the release. Diverse and dynamic, these seven women bring their percussive and harmonic sound to every stage, while embodying and maintaining feminine strength and captivating audiences everywhere.

Hailing from Kenya, Morocco, Israel, Panama, and across the U.S., the talented musicians of ADAAWE deliver diversity, intercultural understanding, and inclusive global music, building community through powerful performance.

During their week in residence, ADAAWE will visit 11 local schools, conduct three student drumming workshops, and also give an informal public performance at 2 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 5, as part of the Jackson Concert Series at Wesley United Methodist Church, 400 Iowa Ave., Muscatine.

ADAAWE will kick off the new concert series, “Quad City Arts Presents” with a public concert 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7, at Centennial Hall on the Augustana campus, 3703 7th Ave., Rock Island. Tickets are $20 for general admission and are available online HERE or at the door.

The full 2023-2024 roster of artists participating in the Visiting Artist Series includes 14 professional performing artists providing educational activities in music, dance, theatre, and visual arts creation.

Residencies featuring artists from across the U.S. and around the world are scheduled through May 2024 and will focus on presenting educational performing arts-based engagements in and around the QC.

Schools and community sites can schedule visits from these artists for demonstrations, workshops, informal performances and more. Details about the series and scheduling are available HERE.