University of Chicago Folk Festival (Friday-Saturday) 

Join the University of Chicago for two days of folk music and fun this weekend. Get all of the information you need about both the performances and workshops here.

World of Chocolate (Friday)

Satisfy the sweet tooth for a good cause at this annual fundraiser benefiting AIDS Foundation Chicago. Guests will be able to sample sweet treats from the city’s best chocolatiers, as well as enjoy light bites, an open bar and a punchboard with mystery prizes. More than 15 local chocolatiers and chefs will also compete for a variety of titles determined by a panel of judges–including Best Small Business, Best Libation and Best Sweet.

Blackhawks host the Rangers (Friday) 

Can the Blackhawks stop the bleeding and get a win? Not likely, as they bring the dominant New York Rangers to town on Friday night for what should be a thrilling night of hockey.

Kevin Nealon at The Comedy Vault in Batavia (Friday, Saturday) 

SNL alum Kevin Nealon will be in Batavia this weekend for a pair of shows. Tickets are still available for shows on both Friday and Saturday.

Puppy Speed Dating at Dovetail Brewery (Friday) 

Join the Chicago Canine Rescue and its adoptable puppies for a “speed dating” event at Dovetail brewing. There will be fun photo ops for you and the pups, drinks, a raffle, quirky pet portraits by Waterpop and more. All proceeds from the raffle and $1 from each beer sale will benefit CCR.

Lunar New Year at Navy Pier (Saturday) 

Navy Pier transforms its Aon Grand Ballroom into a festive, family-friendly celebration of the Lunar New Year. Welcome the arrival of spring and the Year of the Dragon with local performers and artists, traditional and contemporary music, food vendors and much more.

Chicago Auto Show (begins Saturday) 

Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines. The Chicago Auto Show kicks off on Saturday and runs through February 19. Held in McCormick Place, the Chicago show features multiple world and North American Introductions and the complete range of domestic and imported passenger cars, trucks, sport-utility vehicles, minivans, and experimental and concept cars. You can purchase tickets here.

Crosses at Concord Music Hall (Monday/Tuesday) 

Chino Moreno (Deftones) brings his electric-alternative act, Crosses, to Concord Music Hall for a pair of shows on Monday and Tuesday. While the Tuesday show is sold out, limited tickets remain for Monday. Grab a pair here.

Listen to Brian & Kenzie’s interview with Moreno below.

Costco is a wonderful place. It’s the land of opportunity and exploration. It’s also, as it turns out, the land of forgiveness.

Jackie Nyugen went viral on TikTok after she brought her old couch back to Costco for a return. Nguyen explained to the store that she did not have the original receipt, but recalled the date on which she had originally purchased the couch. That allowed a Costco to process the transaction and issue a full refund to Nguyen. 

Last night at the 2024 Grammy Awards, Q101 artists boygenius and Paramore took home a number of awards. For the supergroup boygenius, who consists of Julien Baker, Lucy Dacus, and Phoebe Bridgers, they won Best Alternative Music Album for the record, which became a runaway hit in 2023. The standout single from that album, “Not Strong Enough”, also took home Best Rock Song.

As for Paramore, their return-to-form album This Is Why took home Best Rock Album, beating out the likes of Foo Fighters and Metallica. The title track also beat out Arctic Monkeys and Lana Del Rey, to name a few, for Best Alternative Music Performance.

Taylor Swift took home Album of the Year for Midnights, Miley Cyrus took home Record of the Year for “Flowers”, and Billie Eilish took home Song of the Year for “What Was I Made For? [From the Motion Picture “Barbie”].

Final days of Chicago Restaurant Week (Friday-Sunday) 

Chicago Restaurant Week continues with more than 380 Chicagoland eateries will offer specially curated prix fixe menus for brunch ($25), lunch ($25) or dinner ($42/$59) between January 19 and February 4. With more than two weeks to chow down, there’s plenty of time to make a few reservations and check out some of the best restaurants in Chicago.

Meat Wave at Empty Bottle (Saturday) 

Hard rockers Meat Wave come to the Empty Bottle for a sold out show on Saturday night. A homecoming show for the exciting three-piece, this could very easily be the best show of the weekend.

Meet Me at the Altar at House of Blues (Saturday) 

Emo stalwarts Meet Me at the Altar come to House of Blues for what should be an excellent show on Saturday night. Tickets are available here.

Cider Summit Chicago (Saturday) 

Tickets are now on sale for Cider Summit Chicago, the region’s largest cider tasting. Cider Summit Chicago celebrates local, regional and international artisanal ciders and cider makers. The 10th annual Cider Summit Chicago will feature over 150 ciders, cider cocktails and fruit spirits. This year’s event, Saturday, February 3 at Navy Pier’s Aon Grand Ballroom, expands general admission event hours to 2-6 p.m..

Night Snow Tubing (Saturday) 

Bundle up for an evening of snow tubing. Thrill seekers will meet at the Long Room, where transportation will be provided to a nearby mountain. After you’re done tubing, you’ll refuel with some food and drinks before heading back to the city. Get all the info here.

Bulls host the Kings (Saturday) 

Can the Bulls crawl closer to .500? They face the pesky Sacramento Kings on Saturday night at The UC!

Ben Bradley from WGN is continuing to do the Lord’s work for exposing the corruption taking place in Dolton from their mayor Tiffany Henyard.

According to WGN Investigates, Henyard has spent $67,000 on trips to Portland, Austin, Atlanta and New York City in recent months. This includes a stay at the Four Seasons Hotel in Atlanta. She also brought home a bill of $9,347. Her stay in New York included a $13,098 hotel bill. Airline records show everyone in the group frequently flies first class, as well.

Ben Bradley joins Brian & Kenzie this morning at 8:20am to further discuss the matter.

Now is the chance to cash in on your feet.

In the same way that Beanie Babies and Crypto have had moments of tremendous value in the past, feet are all of the rage now. A survey released by fetish site FunWithFeet revealed that models with “square feet” were earning up to $45,000, with other shapes and sizes also cashing in to make a chunk of change.

It should be noted that 96% of FunWithFeet users draw the line at hairy feet. That is a no-go for most fetishists.

Former Charmed star Alyssa Milano is yet again under fire, this time for starting a GoFundMe for her son’s travel baseball team to take a trip to Cooperstown.

In the post, the actress says,

Baseball is life and our teamates are our brothers. Baseball gives us purpose and we are driven to be our very best. In order to compete, we must raise funds.

The Birds 12U team is coached by two great coaches and our team is diverse, hardworking and really good. We’ve won many championship rings!

Our coaches instill lessons not just about baseball. They teach us leadership and life-skills. They are good people. We are lucky to have them.

We hope you will make a donation to keep our team competitive. Your donation will go to travel costs, uniforms, and dues for families. We also might use your donations for pins or novelty items to make our tournaments memorable experiences beyond the field.

Thank you so much for your consideration. We won’t let you down,

The Birds

She was immediately met with harsh criticism from those that feel that a lifelong TV star should not be groveling for money online.

Milano responded, “I would if I could” to one particular Tweet questioning why she didn’t pay for the trip herself.

Every Friday, Case the Producer rounds up the most exciting new tunes in music and serves them up in one easy-to-find blog for you, the Q101 Crew Members.

Alkaline Trio: Blood, Hair, & Eyeballs

If you can believe it, Alkaline Trio is on their tenth studio album. The Chicago legends have given us Blood, Hair, & Eyeballs, which marks their first record since 2018’s Is This Thing Cursed? Unsurprisingly, the group can still pack a punch. Album standouts “Bad Time” and “Versions of You” harken back to the band’s golden era.

Alkaline Trio returns home on March 16 at the Aragon Ballroom with the one-and-only Drug Church.

Katy Kirby: Blue Raspberry

Katy Kirby is a beacon of light in a rather dull world. The New-York based singer-songwriter has a voice that most can only dream of. Powerful yet somber, Kirby’s words cut deep to expose uncomfortable truths. Blue Raspberry is her second full-length album, and while her first effort wasn’t bad by any means, it’s clear she’s taken a step up with this project.

Katy Kirby hits the stage at Lincoln Hall on March 3.

Militarie Gun: Life Under the Sun

Known for their barking vocals and unrelenting riffs, the Los Angeles punks are taking a bold step in a different direction with their Life Under the Sun EP (a play on 2023’s outstanding Life Under the Gun). Absent are singer Ian Shelton’s growls that turned heads in a recent Taco Bell commercial, and in their place are soft whispers and unique collaborations with artists such as Bully and Manchester Orchestra. In a 2023 interview with Kerrang!, Shelton noted, “I want our music to be confusing to people who are close-minded”. Life Under the Sun serves as the biggest test to that ideology yet.

The Smile: Wall of Eyes

Radiohead fans will have to continue to wait for a new Radiohead project as Thom Yorke fills his time with The Smile. The band’s second album in two years, Wall of Eyes is yet another bold step sonically for the iconic frontman.