As we continue to march along through the times, the time has come to celebrate the Irish connection with another St. Patrick’s Day parade and party. With the big green show on Saturday, our entertainment scene gets in on the “ceilidh” (just say KAY-lee and don’t look at the spelling), along with plenty of other things going on to keep things hopping along.
For a quick Curve Inn post-fire update, we know the main building is being cleaned up, the beer garden area is still being checked out and several fundraisers are on the books at various venues over the next few weeks. Please go to the Curve’s official Facebook page for complete news. Stay Curve Strong!
We have a few dandy Thursday shows to get the week going with Robert “Lefty Preacher” Sampson rocking out on all kinds of music in the Mother Road Diner and Julie Jules & Co. going samba-plus joined by acoustic duo NOVA at the monthly Art of Jazz show held in The Pharmacy Gallery. Thursdays are also a good night for karaoke and open mics, in case you’re feeling like being the entertainer rather than the entertained or just being entertained by those feeling like being the entertainer for the evening.
Friday the 13th comes in with a craic (Irish for having fun and a lively time, pronounced “crack”) with Skibbereen taking the Celtic bull by the horns at Boone’s as Black Velvet lilts their way into The Railyard, while over in the Soy City, Celtic Whistle slides into the Decatur Brew Works and Broken Brogue rules the famed stage at Lincoln Square Theater. Go for the gusto with a full rock on when the Rick Mari Band hits hard at Goodfellas, Brandy Kristin Band brings it back to Weebles and Deja Voodoo does what they do at KooKoos 2.
For ticketed events, Southern Accents talks Petty to you at Danenberger Family Vineyards, while Sunny Sweeney and Kayla Ray roll into Twisted Tree in Jacksonville and our old friends Dreaming in Colour play the prestigious City Winery in St. Louis.
Moving on to Saturday and parade day, we have a real feis (Irish for a festival/gathering thing) for ya, starting with all the music in the parade proper, including bagpipes and drums, school marching bands and who knows what hanging on the floats, plus nearly 50 other area performances in the listings.
For Irish/Celtic songs right after the parade, George Rank’s sports McKinney & Hennessey getting their grog on (McK & Hen do an evening show at Harvest Market, too). Downtown, right in the thick of it, parade grand marshals Court and Karen Conn will host an after-party at Obed & Isaac’s with family-friendly and pet-friendly fun in the beer garden and Dave Littrell playing from 3-5 p.m., while Whiskey Jack’s presents the amazing Dr. Noodles and the World’s Tallest Leprechauns in action.
Other post-parade shenanigans include 3’s Company at Harry’s Adult Care (2-5 p.m.), then starting at 6 p.m. there’s Preston Searl and friends at the Blue Grouch, Angel Brown’s Smooth ‘N Blue Duo at Mother Road Diner and the Tom Beverly Band at Oogie & JJ’s near Glenarm.
We’re heading for Sunday while we still can with Funday acts in the towns around town including Not Petty at Vixen Hill by Palmyra, Ole Stogie at Hill Prairie near Oakford, JackAsh at AJ’s Corner in Chatham, Mississippi Leghound at Trails End in Curran, Dreamers and Doers at Buckhart Tavern, John Drake at Golden Fox Brewing in Decatur and Kortney Leatherwood at Whiskey Ridge in Breckenridge.
Here’s a very merry slainte (Irish toast for health, so just say slan-chay) as you do the hoolie up right for good old St. Pat, one more time.
This article appears in March 12-18, 2026.
