Friday:

White Reaper at Metro

AHOY alumni White Reaper head to Wrigleyville on Friday night for a sold out show at the Metro. Having only played a handful of shows in Chicago since opening for The Black Keys at the inaugural AHOY, we are thrilled to have them back in town. Be sure to get there early, as one of the hottest underground bands going right now, Militarie Gun, plays before them.

Iggy Pop at Salt Shed (sold out) 

Proto-punk legend Iggy Pop stops by The Salt Shed for a sold-out show on Friday night. This marks the former Stooges frontman’s first date in Chicago since he played The Chicago Theater in 2016.

Unicorn World at Navy Pier (Friday-Sunday)

If you are looking for something kid-friendly on a weekend that is usually filled with debauchery and chaos, we recommend Unicorn World at Navy Pier. Per Timeout Chicago, “The three-day event will bring the mythical creatures to life through life-sized, animatronic unicorns plus themed arts and crafts, music, dancing, a gift shop and more. You can also splurge on premium experiences like a bounce house, face painting and professional photos.”

Opening Weekend of Annie at Cadillac Palace Theatre

Annie is now playing downtown at the Cadillac Palace Theatre. Get your tickets now as the show will only be in town until March 19.

Big 10 Tournament at United Center (Friday-Sunday) 

The Big 10 Tournament runs all weekend at the United Center with the championship game taking place Sunday at 2:30.

Saturday: 

Dyeing of the Chicago River

It’s a Chicago tradition like no other. At 10am on Saturday, the Chicago river will be turned green to kick off a week of Irish cheer. Our friends at Timeout Chicago have compiled a list of the best places to watch the river dyeing from, which can be found here.

Chicago St. Patrick’s Day Parade 

Columbis Drive will host the city’s biggest St. Patrick’s Day celebration with bagpipes, drum lines, Irish dancers, and more at the 68th incarnation of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. The parade will start at Balbo Drive and Columbus Drive and proceed north, with a viewing stand situated in front of Buckingham Fountain.

MS Sucks: Singing for the Cure featuring Art Alexakis (Everclear), Lucky Boys Confusion, Tom Higgenson of the Plain White T’s, and Josh Caterer of the Smoking Popes at Bottom Lounge

Chicago veterans and 90’s staple Art Alexakis, frontman of the band Everclear, will be gathering for an intimate show at the Bottom Lounge on Saturday night in an effort to raise funds to end MS. Tickets for this event are available here.

New Found Glory at Thalia Hall

Pop punk legends New Found Glory, hot off the heels of their new album, “Make the Most Of It”, will headline a sold-out show at Thalia Hall on Saturday night.

Sunday: 

Northwest Side Irish Parade 

At noon on Sunday, the Northwest Side of Chicago gets to flex their Irish spirit. The parade kicks off at noon in front of William J. Onahan School and goes south on Neola Avenue and north on Northwest Highway to Harlem Avenue.

South Side Irish Parade 

The South Side gets in on the fun on Sunday with their version of St. Patrick’s Day festivities. The fun, featuring floats, bagpipes and marching bands moves north on Western Avenue, beginning at 103rd Street and ending at 115th Street. The parade kicks off at 1:00pm.

Every generation of kids is a little different, but Bad Kids are always the same. An 11-year-old in New Mexico was slapped with a juvenile citation after trying to poison his teacher. The student brought bleach to school and when the teacher wasn’t looking, he dumped the bleach into her coffee. When the teacher returned, other students (snitches) warned the teacher before she could drink it.

Police have not yet revealed a motive behind the incident and it is unclear if the student or teacher is back in school.

Maine High School in Park Ridge is being forced by the governing body of Illinois prep sports to vacate their wins from last year. The school is losing all nine wins they racked up in 2022 after they used players that were not eligible to play. 

Per WGN, “A joint investigation between the IHSA, Maine South, and Maine Township High School District 2017 determined that a number of players didn’t reside in the school’s attendance area during last season. This is a violation of IHSA bylaw 3.030 and resulted in the forfeits.”

It’s been a long week for the Smith family. After receiving a throttling from comedian Chris Rock during Netflix’s first live standup special last Saturday, the family has been on the defensive. According to People Magazine, people within Pinkett Smith’s circle claim that Rock has been obsessed with her for 30 years. “Jada has had no part in all of this other than being heckled,” the source says. “Chris is obsessed with her and that’s been going on for almost 30 years.”

Meanwhile, August Alsina, the man that slept with Jada Pinkett Smith, loved the Netflix special. A source close to him, “He thought it was not only funny but truthful. That was the best part for him.”

The brilliant minds at E! have finally found a way to use Nick Cannon’s fertileness to their advantage. The 42-year-old father of 12 is teaming up with Kevin Hart for an incredibly on-the-nose show. In the trailer, Cannon takes his place in the hot seat with a wide smile while Hart tells him, “You’re gonna get some contestants that wanna have your baby.”

We’ll have more updates on this program as we get them, because no show has ever been so far up our alley before.

Newsweek has compiled the list of the world’s best hospitals, and Chicagoland continues to be the place to be when it comes to medical care. According to Newsweek, “The goal of this study is to provide a data-based comparison of hospital reputation and performance across countries. We hope this will be useful to patients and families seeking the best care for themselves and loved ones, as well as to hospitals as they benchmark themselves against their peers.”

The Chicago hospitals that ranked were,

8. Northwestern Memorial Hospital – Chicago

18. Rush University Medical Center – Chicago

23. University of Chicago Medical Center – Chicago

62. Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital – Winfield

69. Loyola University Medical Center – Maywood

91. Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital – Downers Grove

102. Advocate Lutheran General Hospital – Park Ridge

133. Silver Cross Hospital – New Lenox

143. Edward Hospital – Naperville

178. Evanston Hospital – Evanston

187. Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital – Lake Forest

204. Northwestern Medicine – Delnor Hospital – Geneva

226. St. Joseph Medical Center – Bloomington

237. AMITA Adventist Medical Center Hinsdale – Hinsdale

249. Elmhurst Hospital – Elmhurst

253. Advocate Christ Medical Center – Oak Lawn

261. Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital – McHenry

264. Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center – Chicago

294. AMITA Health – Adventist Medical Center La Grange – La Grange

301. Anderson Hospital – Maryville

304. Advocate Sherman Hospital – Elgin

A full list of hospitals can be found here.

Famed conspiracy theorist and the most successful version of “guy at your local bar with a podcast”, Joe Rogan, is under fire for allegedly blowing off his family. A TikTok has surfaced of his father and sister calling out the Fear Factor host for his behavior.

Rogan has spoken about his relationship with his father previously on his podcast.