Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival

No passenger rail serves the Quad Cities: the long-planned Chicago-Moline Amtrak service was still not running as of 2026 (the Moline station is built but inactive). The nearest working Amtrak station is Galesburg, IL, about 45 miles southeast, served by the California Zephyr, Southwest Chief, and the Illinois Zephyr/Carl Sandburg Chicago corridor trains. There is no longer a scheduled bus connector from Galesburg to Davenport, Burlington Trailways, the region's former Amtrak Thruway carrier, ceased all scheduled routes on 27 Sep 2025, so from Galesburg it is a ~55 min drive (rental car or prearranged ride). A realistic option mainly for rail-first travelers on the Chicago corridor, not an airport substitute

Greyhound serves Davenport at the Ground Transportation Center, 304 W River Dr in downtown Davenport, with multiple daily departures (about 5/day on the Chicago run). The GTC is ~8 miles south of the casino: finish with a ~15 min rideshare, or CitiBus Blue Line (Route 5) partway (see public-transit entry). Note: Burlington Trailways, which historically also served this stop, shut down all scheduled intercity routes on 27 Sep 2025, so older listings naming it are stale

Transit exists but does not reach the casino door, and it takes three systems/legs. MetroLINK Route 20 Blue stops at MLI terminal door 6 twice an hour (roughly 6:10am-6:10pm weekdays; reduced weekends) and runs to Centre Station in downtown Moline. Crossing to Iowa means connecting to Davenport's Ground Transportation Center (CitiBus Brown Line/Route 7 links the GTC with MetroLINK's District Station in Rock Island). From the GTC, CitiBus Blue Line (Route 5) runs north via 53rd St to the Walmart on Elmore Ave, still roughly a mile short of the casino, with a final walk along suburban arterial roads. CitiBus runs Mon-Sat only, no Sundays/holidays. Realistic for budget travelers headed to central Davenport; for the casino itself, plan on a rideshare for at least the last leg

Uber (UberX, UberXL) and Lyft both operate at MLI with pickup near the terminal entrance; the airport's official ground-transportation page also lists taxi operators Yellow Cab (563-723-8000) and Max's Cab Company (563-324-9000 IA / 309-788-4100 IL), plus appointment-based sedan services (Act II Transportation, Express Midwest). The casino is about 13 driving miles from MLI via I-74/I-80 (~20 min). the casino is several miles farther north, so budget roughly $20-35. This is the practical door-to-door option, no advance booking URL, hail in-app on arrival or phone the cab companies

The Quad Cities Airbnb market is modest and spread across Davenport, Bettendorf and the Illinois-side cities; the casino sits in a highway-retail zone with little short-term-rental inventory immediately around it, so most units mean a 10-15 min drive. Late July/early August is the Quad Cities' peak event season, so book early, but with the venue hotel and a dense budget-chain cluster within 2 miles, Airbnb is a preference play here rather than a necessity

An indoor, seated jazz festival at a casino is about the least camping-shaped event on the calendar, but for road-trippers who prefer a tent or camper to a hotel, Hipcamp lists private-land sites in the rural Mississippi River country around the Davenport area (eastern Iowa farms and river-valley acreage), all car-based and generally 20-40+ min out. Link points to Hipcamp's Davenport-area directory (verified live, HTTP 200, 15 Aug 2026)