Upcoming Events

It's that time again, friends! 11 Weeks, 40 Comedians, 39 Frowny Emoticons, ONE Champion. With almost all sold out shows, the best audiences of the year, and the ability to decide the winner, The Bloomington Comedy Festival returns for its 13th year. Join us Wednesdays AND Thursdays ALL SUMMER LONG as we crown The Funniest Person in Bloomington!

First Round

June 16th & 17th

June 23rd & 24th

June 30th & July 1st

July 7th & 8th

Second Round

July 14th & 15th

July 21st & 22nd

July 28th & 29th

Quarterfinals

August 4th & 5th

August 11th & 12th

Semifinals

August 18th & 19th

THE FINALS

August 25th & 26th

Erica Rhodes has appeared on ABC’s Modern Family, HBO’s Veep, Fox’s New Girl, and IFC’s Comedy Bang Bang. She was a regular panelist on Comedy Central’s @midnight and Fox’s Punchline. Her standup TV appearances include NBC’s Bring the Funny and Last Call with Carson Daly, the CW’s Howie Mandel Comedy Extravaganza, SeeSo’s The Guest List, Hulu’s Coming to the Stage, and AXS’ Live at Gotham. Erica was chosen as a New Face for the 2018 Just for Laughs Festival (Montreal) and also performed at the San Francisco Sketchfest, the Moontower Comedy Festival (Austin, TX), the Blue Whale Comedy Festival (Tulsa, OK), the Boston Comedy Festival and RIOT L.A. Fest.

Erica starred in the ABC Digital series The Off-Season, was a semi-regular performer/writer on NPR’s A Prairie Home Companion, and a recurring character on the Audible series, Dr. Katz: The Audiobook. Her first album Sad Lemon hit #1 on the iTunes comedy charts and her first one-hour comedy special La Vie en Rhodes was shot as part of the Tribeca Drive-In Fest (at Pasadena’s famous Rose Bowl) and is now available on Amazon, On Demand, and iTunes. Upcoming is a starring role in the Netflix animation series, A Tale Dark and Grimm.

Bring the Funny judge Jeff Foxworthy described Erica as “the best-defined comic voice of the competition.”

DeAnne Smith, a Canadian Comedy Award winner, has performed at Just for Laughs, JFL42, the Winnipeg Comedy Festival, Melbourne International Comedy Festival, the New Zealand International Comedy Festival, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and the Iceland Comedy Festival to name a few. They’ve also been on TV all over the darn world, including on Last Comic Standing and The Late Late Show in the U.S., as well as in Canada, Australia and the UK. The video “Straight Men, Step Your Game Up” has over 46 million views. Melbourne’s The Music calls their latest show, Post Joke Era, “a virtuoso display of smart, slick, silly brilliance — a metaphorical (and literal) mic-drop of a show,” giving it five stars, while the UK’s Chortle calls Smith “always relevant, but never reverent. The UK Telegraph says “Smart. Very funny. Effortless charm lets her get away with murder.” DeAnne has never actually murdered anyone. You can watch thei half hour special, Gentleman Elf, on Netflix RIGHT NOW. Please do.

Originally from Chicago, Alex Moffat is a New York-based actor, stand-up, writer, and current cast member on NBC’s Saturday Night Live.

His SNL career began in 2016 and took off once his Eric Trump character took off. Alex has also played Anderson Cooper, Al Franken, Billy Bush, Chuck Schumer and even Marc Maron.

Moffat recently appeared in an NBC sketch comedy pilot and on the Showtime series Billions. He can be seen in the films including A Conspiracy On Jekyll Island with Minnie Driver and Uncle John with John Ashton. He also lent his voice to Disney's hit sequel Ralph Breaks the Internet.

Alex was Natural Light Beer’s first spokesperson since Mickey Mantle and was an official acro-dunker with the Chicago Bulls.

Join us as Valerie records her debut album right in front of our great Bloomington audiences!

“That Valerie is a great joke writer goes without saying. It’s her ability to take her very modern, evolved worldview and marry it with her no-nonsense, working class voice that makes her so special.” - Dana Gould (Comedian, The Simpsons)

Valerie Tosi is a comedian, actor, writer, and voiceover artist. An alumna of both iO West and Second City Hollywood, she has appeared in a viral promo with Kevin Hart and Ice Cube. Valerie has also appeared on ‘Stan Against Evil’ on IFC, ‘The Joel McHale Show’ on Netflix and was the guest comic on a recent episode of ‘Conan’ on TBS. She is regularly featured at major comedy festivals including Limestone, Laughing Skull, Out of Bounds, and All Jane. Valerie is a regular feature act for Emmy Award-winning comedian Dana Gould and she is the voice of the Google Home Mini campaign. She is the host and creator of The Mermaid Comedy Hour, the longest running all-female comedy show at The Hollywood Improv. Her comedy is personal stories told in a way that is delightfully relatable.

Our #1 Pal Stewart Huff headlines our 13th Anniversary celebration!

Over the years, we have donated over $30,000 to local non profits via our Anniversary shows. This year, the recipient of our 100% benefit will be the fantastic local non-profit, New Hope for Families!

New Hope for Families is a community leader in social services to families in crisis. New Hope administers a residential shelter program for families experiencing homelessness and offers nationally accredited child care and early learning programs that give children the good start they deserve for future success in school and life.

Our residential shelter program currently offers emergency housing for seven families at a time. Our child care program currently provides licensed full-day care for 16 children ages birth to five. New Hope recently began construction on a new $5.75 million facility that will expand our emergency shelter capacity to 12 families and child care services to 48 children.

New Hope staff serve families with respect and compassion, providing a safe place for parents and children to stay together when they need each other most. Through housing assistance and childhood development services, New Hope is committed to providing vulnerable families with help for today and new hope for tomorrow.

https://www.newhope4families.org

Mike comes in a night early to Bloomington to perform an evening of fan favorites from his earlier albums before his weekend of all new material.

MIKE BIRBIGLIA is an award-winning comedian, storyteller, director, and actor who has performed for audiences worldwide, from the Sydney Opera House to Broadway. His most recent shows, “The New One,” “Thank God for Jokes,” and “My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend” are streaming on Netflix. Currently he is the host of the podcast “Mike Birbiglia's Working It Out,” recently included in a list of Rolling Stone’s “Best Podcasts of 2020.” He has written two bestselling books, "Sleepwalk With Me” as well as "The New One.” Additionally, Birbiglia is a filmmaker who wrote, directed, and starred in the films Sleepwalk With Me (which won an audience award at Sundance) and Don’t Think Twice.

Known throughout the world as The Hardcore Legend, Mick Foley is a 3-time WWE champion and a WWE Hall of famer. Now Mick returns to Fort Myers with an all new show - 20 years in the making! The “Nice Day Tour” is a celebration of the 20th anniversary of the release of “Have a Nice Day”, Foley’s towering New York Times #1 best-seller - still the standard bearer for sports-entertainment memoirs.

Mick will be bringing his beloved book to life, onstage to select cities in the US, Canada and United Kingdom. Relive the moments that made you laugh, cringe, and maybe even cry - from his humble wrestling origins, to his legendary Hell in a Cell match, to his triumphant WWE title victory over Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Make sure to be in attendance for an amazing night of wrestling memories - featuring Mick’s trademark blend of wildness and warmth, wit and wisdom.

Each show will conclude with a 45 minute Q&A, where all questions are welcomed. VIP meet & greet tickets include a photo-op with Mick and TWO signed items. So bring along that special photo, action figure, title belt or your personal copy of #HaveANiceDay - and Mick will put his Sharpie to work on it!

ROY WOOD JR.’s comedy has entertained millions across stage, television and radio. In addition to stand-up comedy, producing and acting, Roy is currently a correspondent on Comedy Central's Emmy and NAACP Award winning The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. During his tenure, he has used The Daily Show’s brand of satire to shed light on serious issues including gun violence, police reform, LGBTQ+ discrimination, ICE deportations and PTSD in the Black community.

Roy expanded his already large role on Comedy Central with a comprehensive first-look deal and is developing his comedy pilotJefferson County: Probation. Comedy Central will also produce and air his third one-hour stand-up special this year. Wood’s second special, No One Loves You, premiered as part of Comedy Central’s Stand-Up Month in January 2019; the special remains the network’s highest rated original stand-up premiere since his February 2017 one-hour, Father Figure. Most recently, Roy launched his podcast, Roy’s Job Fair, produced in partnership with Comedy Central and iHeartMedia. Each week he sits down with real people from all lines of work to discuss their most memorable jobs, employment vacancies they’re looking to fill, scams they’ve run at the office, and of course, the cringe-worthy office romances.

Wood’s additional credits include Better Call Saul, The Last O.G., Space Force, Last Comic Standing, This Is Not Happening, and Sullivan & Son as well as his Comedy Central web series The Night Pigeon and Stand-Up Playback. He has appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Late Night with Seth Meyers, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Conan, the Late Show with David Letterman and HBO’s historic Def Comedy Jam. He has also performed for the troops on numerous USO tours in the Middle East and the Pacific Islands.

Roy is a graduate of the Florida A&M University with a B.S. in Broadcast Journalism. True to his roots, he is an outspoken advocate for reshaping the image of Alabama and the American South as a whole. In 2018, he penned a New York Times piece on the subject. He is actively working with the Birmingham City Council and the Film Commission to bring more entertainment jobs to the state. During the Covid pandemic, Roy has also remained committed to fundraising for comedy clubs by supporting initiatives like TipYourWaitstaff.com and Laugh Aid.

Keep up with Roy Wood Jr. on Twitter and Instagram @roywoodjr.

TICKETS GO ON SALE 6/28 AT 10AM EST!

For over thirty years, Marc Maron has been writing and performing comedy for print, stage, radio, online and television. With his landmark podcast WTF with Marc Maron, which averages 6 million downloads per month, he’s interviewed icons such as Robin Williams, Keith Richards and former US president Barack Obama.

Maron starred in the Netflix series “GLOW" and his scripted series, "MARON", aired for four seasons on IFC. He’s had recent roles in JOKER, SPENCER CONFIDENTIAL, SWORD OF TRUST, and STARDUST and stars in the forthcoming Aretha Franklin biopic, RESPECT, alongside Jennifer Hudson.

Maron’s stand-up special “MORE LATER” (2015) aired on Epix and his specials “THINKY PAIN” (2013), “MARC MARON: TOO REAL" (2017) and 2020’s “END TIMES FUN", which was nominated for a 2021 Critics’ Choice Award, are currently streaming on Netflix.

Chris Gethard is a comedian, actor and author. He's the host of the Beautiful/ Anonymous podcast, which was recently adapted into a 4-part series streaming on Topic, the former host of The Chris Gethard Show, and wrote and starred in the HBO special Career Suicide. He also hosts the podcast New Jersey Is The World, a celebration of his home state.

In June 2021, Comedy Dynamics released Chris' new comedy special, Chris Gethard: Half My Life, which is a hybrid tour documentary and stand-up special shot in a variety of DIY spaces and independent venues all over the country in 2019.

Chris has been seen on television shows such as Space Force, The Office, Broad City, Parks and Recreation, and Inside Amy Schumer. He’s also been seen in films such as The Other Guys, The Heat, Ghostbusters, Anchorman 2, and was one of the stars of Mike Birbiglia’s Don’t Think Twice. Chris can most recently be seen in the HBO Max documentary Class Action Park.

Chris is also the author of the books Weird NY, A Bad Idea I’m About to Do, and Lose Well, and and the founder of Planet Scum, an online comedy venue for the country’s best underground comedians.