comedy
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Pete Davidson and John Mulaney announced Thursday (Oct. 26) that they will postpone their pair of shows scheduled in Maine this weekend following the deadly mass shootings in Lewiston, Maine, on Wednesday night. “We are devastated by the events in Lewiston,” Mulaney posted to his Instagram Story on Thursday. “Shows scheduled for this weekend in […]
Nate Bargatze will make his hosting debut on Saturday Night Live on Oct. 28, alongside musical guests Foo Fighters. While it’s his first time hosting SNL, the comedian, deemed “The Nicest Man in Stand-Up” by The Atlantic, has been in the game for years. He has five comedy albums and multiple Netflix specials stemming back […]
Following the conclusion of the Hollywood writers’ strike, Saturday Night Live is finally returning to NBC this weekend (Oct. 14) with former cast member Pete Davidson taking on the role of host. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news In a new promo for the episode posted on […]
This year’s edition of the long-running Cool Comedy • Hot Cuisine, a fund-raiser for the Scleroderma Research Foundation (SRF), will be a tribute to comedian Bob Saget, who was a long-time SRF board member and co-host of this event.
Saget died in January 2022 at age 65 after suffering blunt head trauma from an accidental blow to the back of his head.
The event will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 8 at 6:30 p.m. at the Edison Ballroom in New York City as part of the 19th annual New York Comedy Festival. Adam Duritz and David Immerglück of Counting Crows are scheduled to perform.
Comedian Jeff Ross will host the event, which will also feature comedians Michael Che and Nikki Glaser. Cool Comedy • Hot Cuisine is co-chaired by celebrity chef Susan Feniger, actress Regina Hall (whose mother was diagnosed with the disease in 2006), and Saget’s widow, Kelly Rizzo.
“I am honored to continue the legacy that Bob built, by working with his closest friends to create an unforgettable night with the same goal that Bob had—to raise as much money as possible for scleroderma research,” Rizzo said in a statement. “Laughter was at the heart of everything Bob did, and Cool Comedy • Hot Cuisine is no exception. We look forward to filling the room full of laughter, all in the spirit of finding a cure.”
At this year’s event, the SRF will debut the Bob Saget Legacy Award, which will honor individuals who have followed in his footsteps by helping raise awareness about scleroderma and funds to find a cure. The inaugural award will be presented to Caroline Hirsch, founder and owner of Carolines and the New York Comedy Festival.
Saget championed the SRF since losing his sister Gay to the disease in 1994. He joined the organization’s board of directors in 2003. However, his involvement actually began in 1991 through the SRF’s annual signature event, Cool Comedy • Hot Cuisine — as an attendee, then the next year as a performer, and ultimately as a key figure in organizing and producing the event.
The SRF has presented Cool Comedy • Hot Cuisine since 1987. The event has been a cornerstone of the SRF’s fundraising efforts, raising more than $29 million to fund research.
Sponsorships starting at $1,000 are now available. A limited number of individual tickets at $750 are also available. For more information, visit www.srfcure.org/cchc.
The Scleroderma Research Foundation (SRF), a 501(c)(3) organization, was established in 1987. Scleroderma is a rare and often life-threatening autoimmune disease that can cause fibrosis in the skin and other vital organs.
Launched in 2004, The New York Comedy Festival is the largest comedy festival in the U.S. This year’s edition will take place from Nov. 3 to 12.
Fresh off the announcement of Big Mouth’s forthcoming seventh season — which is set to star Megan Thee Stallion — comedian, voice actor, and writer John Mulaney has revealed a slew of new 2023 tour dates. John Mulaney In Concert — which features a brand new show from the award-winning star — kicks off on […]
Three British news organizations reported Saturday (Sept. 16) that comedian and social influencer Russell Brand has been accused of rape, sexual assault and abuse based on allegations from four women who knew him over a seven-year period at the height of his fame.
Brand denied the allegations and said that all of his relationships have been consensual.
The Sunday Times, The Times of London and Channel 4’s “Dispatches” said that one woman alleged she had been raped, while three others accused him of sexual assault. One of the women also said he had been physically and emotionally abusive.
The women said that they only felt ready to tell their stories after being approached by reporters, with some citing Brand’s newfound prominence as an online wellness influencer as a factor in their decision to speak.
Before the stories were published, Brand posted a video online denying the allegations, which had been outlined in two “extremely disturbing letters” from a “mainstream media” television company and a newspaper. He didn’t identify the news organizations by name.
“Amidst this litany of astonishing, rather baroque attacks are some very serious allegations that I absolutely refute,” he said. “These allegations pertain to the time when I was working in the mainstream, when I was in the newspapers all the time, when I was in the movies and, as I have written about extensively in my books, I was very, very promiscuous.”
“Now during that time of promiscuity the relationships I had were absolutely, always consensual,” he added. “I was always transparent about that then, almost too transparent, and I am being transparent about it now as well.”
Brand also suggested that the reports were part of a coordinated attack designed to discredit him because of his views. Brand has been criticized for expressing skepticism about COVID-19 vaccines and interviewing contentious podcasters like Joe Rogan.
“To see that transparency metastasized into something criminal, that I absolutely deny, makes me question is there another agenda at play,” Brand said.
Brand rose to fame as a stand-up comic in Britain in the early 2000s, which led to starring roles on Channel 4 and later BBC Radio, where he capitalized on a reputation for outrageous behavior and risque banter.
He later made the jump to Hollywood, appearing in films such as Forgetting Sarah Marshall in 2008 and the remake of Arthur in 2011. Brand was married to U.S. pop star Katy Perry from 2010-2012.
In recent years, he transformed himself into a political commentator and influencer posting YouTube videos on subjects such as personal freedom and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Universal Music Group Nashville has launched a comedy label, with the first release coming from Nashville-based comedian Nate Bargatze. Capitol Comedy Nashville will kick off with Bargatze’s Hello, World, out Friday (Sept. 15) on digital service providers (DSPs). The Grammy-nominated Bargatze has released several specials on streaming outlets, including Hello, World, which premiered on Amazon’s Prime Video earlier this […]
You might be so not invited to Adam Sandler‘s daughter’s bar mitzvah, but the comedian is giving his fans ample opportunity to see him live this fall. On Wednesday (Sept. 13), Live Nation announced that Sandler is set to embark on a 25-date North American trek titled the I Missed You Tour.
Produced by Live Nation, the tour will commence on Oct. 12 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, BC, and make stops in Las Vegas, Memphis, Toronto and more before closing in Denver at Ball Arena on Dec. 12. The I Missed You Tour marks Sandler’s second major trek of the year. In March, the three-time Grammy-nominated comedian and actor added seven more shows to his Adam Sandler LIVE tour.
The new tour comes on the heels of several acclaimed films from the five-time Emmy nominee. This year, Sandler produced and starred in You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah alongside Tony winner Idina Menzel, wife Jackie Sandler and daughters Sadie and Sunny Sandler. Last year, he acted opposite Academy Award nominee Queen Latifah in the sports dramedy Hustle, for which he won the People’s Choice Award for The Comedy Movie Star of 2022. Back in 2019, Sandler flaunted his dramatic chops in the award-winning thriller Uncut Gems.
Sandler has charted five titles on the Billboard 200, peaking with 1999’s Stan and Judy’s Kid at No. 16, while his “Chanukah Song” peaked at No. 80 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1999. Earlier this year, Sandler was honored with the 2023 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.
Through a Live Nation presale, fans will be able to purchase tickets to the I Missed You Tour beginning Thursday at noon local time. The general sale starts Friday at noon local time.
Here are all the dates for Adam Sandler’s I Missed You Tour:
Thu. Oct. 12 — Vancouver, BC — Rogers ArenaFri. Oct. 13 — Seattle, WA — Climate Pledge ArenaSat. Oct. 14 — Portland, OR — Veterans Memorial ColiseumSun. Oct. 15 — Nampa, ID — Ford Idaho Center ArenaMon. Oct. 16 — Spokane, WA — Spokane ArenaWed. Oct. 18 — San Jose, CA — SAP Center at San JoseThu. Oct. 19 — Stateline, NV — Tahoe Blue Event CenterFri. Oct. 20 — Fresno, CA — Save Mart CenterSat. Oct. 21 — Palm Desert, CA — Acrisure ArenaMon. Oct. 23 — Anaheim, CA — Honda CenterTue. Nov. 7 — Toronto, ON — Scotiabank ArenaWed. Nov. 8 — Rochester, NY — Blue Cross ArenaThu. Nov. 9 — Washington, DC — Capital One ArenaSat. Nov. 11 — Milwaukee, WI — Fiserv ForumSun. Nov. 12 — Minneapolis, MN — Target CenterMon. Nov. 13 — Des Moines, IA — Wells Fargo ArenaWed. Nov. 15 — Indianapolis, IN — Gainbridge FieldhouseThu. Nov. 16 — Memphis, TN — FedExForumSat. Dec. 2 — Las Vegas, NV — Michelob ULTRA ArenaSun. Dec. 3 — Salt Lake City, UT — Delta CenterThu. Dec. 7 — San Antonio, TX — AT&T CenterFri. Dec. 8 — Thackerville, OK — WinStar CasinoSat. Dec. 9 — Oklahoma City, OK — Paycom CenterSun. Dec. 10 — Wichita, KS — INTRUST Bank ArenaTue. Dec. 12 — Denver, CO — Ball Arena
Missed out on tickets to Matt Rife‘s ProbleMATTic World Tour? Fans are in luck, as Netflix announced Friday (Sept. 8) that the comedian is getting his own hourlong special on the platform titled Matt Rife: Natural Selection, set to air later this year. The special will be filmed during the Sept. 22 & 23 stops […]
When comedian Bert Kreischer started outlining the concept for his party-driven Fully Loaded Comedy Festival tour, the famed party animal decided to sit down with his thoughts and sketch out a tour agenda like no other — one that would both bring his vision for the ultimate comedy tour to fruition and potentially serve as the outline for his legacy.
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“Each summer, I want to surround myself with my favorite humans, which are always going to be comics,” he said. “I want to hang out with my friends and family, tour and have fun. I want to float on rivers, boat on lakes, end up in oceans, go hiking, shoot guns, get high on mushrooms and do whatever we can to have a blast.”
Kreischer’s dream is now a reality, wrapping up last month after a 17-date tour across North America — including the Orion Amphitheater in Huntsville, Alabama, and ending at the Gorge Amphitheater in Washington. When the numbers are all reported to Billboard Boxscore, the tour is likely to come in at a more than $10 million gross, making it one of the top earning comedy tours of the year.
Headlined by Kreischer, who has seen his profile skyrocket in the last two years thanks to his films like 2023’s The Machine, comedy specials like Hey Big Boy and Razzle Dazzle and popular comedy podcasts including “2 Bears, 1 Cave” with fellow comedian Tom Segura, this year’s stacked lineup for Fully Loaded included Mark Normand, Shane Gillis, Tiffany Haddish, Stavros Halkias, Fortune Feimster, Dave Attell, Lewis Black, Jim Norton, Andrew Santino, Big Jay Oakerson, Jay Pharoah, Dan Soder, Chad Daniels, Ralph Barbosa, Rosebud Baker and Tammy Pescatelli.
“Bert selects all of the talent for the show — its not being picked by a promoter or a talent buyer,” says manager manager Judi Marmel, a partner at Levity Talent. “In a world where nothing is agnostic, the festival is the purest form of an artist executing their vision.”
Fully Loaded was born out of the Hot Summer Nights Tour sold-out drive-in series Kreischer launched during the pandemic in 2020. Wanting to recreate his success for 2022, Kreischer — along with Marmel, UTA agent Heidi Feigin and UTA partner and Head of Comedy Touring Nick Nuciforo — came up with the idea to create a traveling comedy festival inspired by the original Lollapalooza touring festival. The festival also partnered with the charity Comedy Gives Back, an organization founded as a safety net for comics by providing them with financial crisis relief, mental health support and more.
“Our intention for creating Fully Loaded was to build a lifestyle brand that represents all of the aspects of life that Bert enjoys the most, that could then support multiple ventures and revenue streams for years to come,” says Marmel.
Kreischer says his wife LeeAnn convinced him to invest the first years earnings from the 2022 run back into the festival and worked with a team of friends to book excursions and activities for participating comedians.
“We wanted to make it the best experience a comic could ever have with extra tour buses and plenty of amenities to make it feel like a great gig,” Kreischer says — like a visit to Churchhill Downs or batting practice with the home team at the stadium they were playing.
For this year’s tour, Kreischer says his team booked activities for every day of the tour, which was split into four separate four-day runs — June 14-17 playing Forest Hills Stadium in New York, followed by CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore, PNC Field in Moosic, Penn. and Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion in Gilford; June 22-25 at Turtle Creek Stadium in Traverse City, Michigan, Parkview Field in Fort Wayne, Indiana Enterprise Center in St Louis, Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln. The tour then took a two week break before returning for eight more July dates, including a July 6 show at Huntsville, Alabama’s new Orion Amphitheater, a July 8 show at AutoZone Park in Memphis, a July 12 show at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and the show closer July 15 at the Gorge.
Throughout the tour, a content team of producers, editors, and marketing executives put together video clips and social media content from the tour, leading to a spike in interest and ticket sales as the tour chugged along. By the time the tour landed in Las Vegas, most comedians saw big spikes in their social numbers, and fans were booking tickets and flying in from out of town to see the show.
Kreischer says organizing the festival wasn’t always easy, having to sometimes make tough decisions like like deciding each night’s lineup, curated to fit the venue and market and momentum of the overall tour.
“There are certain acts that other comedians have a hard time following,” Kreisher says. “Acts like Chad Daniels, who was simply amazing. And I also had Tiffany Haddish on the lineup, who no one could f–king follow either. Most promoters wouldn’t give a s–t and say ‘just find someone to follow them,’ but as a comic, I had to say, “No that’s not how it works,” and I’m able to talk to a comedian like Dan Soder and ask him to open — and he’ll do it because he understands, and the request is coming from a comedian.”
Kreischer adds, “And then I will take the bullet and close the show behind someone like Chad or Tiffany. Everyone there knows me — I just take my shirt off and people go crazy.”
“At the heart of [things],” Kreischer says, “I love comics, and I love being on the road with comics. And my daughters who I bring on tour with me love it too. During the tour, one of them told me, ‘I love this — you wake up in a different city every morning, you have breakfast ready and everyone you eat with is hilarious. This is amazing.’”