Wicked Liz and the Bellyswirls Rocking Davenport for 30 Years

Davenport, Iowa. 1998. Back when bands still had to earn it. No algorithms. No “content.” You played until your fingers hurt and the bartender hated you and the sound guy stopped pretending he was going to help. You played until people finally went, “Alright. Fine. These maniacs are for real.”

Liz Treiber sings like she already knows what you want. Behind her: Leo Kelly on lead guitar, Bob Kelly on bass, Greg Hipskind on drums.

That’s the BellySwirls. The name sounds like something you get from gas station nachos, but onstage it’s a tight machine built to wreck a room. These guys don’t float through songs—they kick the door in.

Genre? Call it blues-rock if you need a label—greasy, hooky, and mean enough to make you forget you were going to leave after one drink. Big riffs, fat groove, stomp-on-the-floor energy. Stuff that makes you spill your beer and not care.

Their songs have that “we’ve done this the hard way” feel. “Believe.” “Mary Kate.” “Nick of Time.” “Ruby.” “Wicked Waltz.” “Break Me” is exactly what it sounds like—not a poem, not a diary entry, more like somebody slamming a door and daring you to follow.

Here’s the part people miss: they didn’t get good from “practicing.” They got good from doing it. Over 1,200 shows. Living out of suitcases, hauling gear, playing through bad monitors, and still hitting like a wrecking ball at 11:45 p.m. when the crowd is half-drunk and the place smells like fryer grease and regret.

They’ve opened for everybody. REO Speedwagon. STYX. Hootie & the Blowfish. Sugarland. Richard Marx. Tone Loc. That list reads like somebody dropped a CD binder down the stairs. But that’s what happens when you’re the band that can walk into any situation—county fair, theater, biker bar, whatever—and make it work.

Wicked Liz & the BellySwirls were inducted into the Iowa Rock ’n’ Roll Music Association Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2025. It wasn’t for one big hit or a lucky break, but for the whole grind—more than 1,200 shows, years of hauling gear, and building a reputation the hard way until they became one of the Quad Cities’ most reliable rock bands. That’s what got them in: longevity, work, and a stage show that kept delivering.