Joke-Off is back for 2026! Twenty-four comics are put in brackets.
They compete head-to-head telling their best joke. Judges Mandee McKelvey, Keith McGill and Sean Smith, with help from the audience, decide which joke is funnier.
We keep going until only the Joke-Off champion is left.
Come out for a night of laughs, craft beer, pizza, nachos and more.
Celebrate Galentine’s Day with comedian Mandee McKelvey at the TEN20 Taproom in Clarksville, IN.
As one of the Midwest’s most acclaimed stand-up comedians, Mandee’s candor, touch of vulgarity, and infectious sense of humor reveal an earnestness and vulnerability that invites us to find the humor in tragedy.
Her one-woman show, “My Left Boob,” received the Underdog Award for it’s sold-out debut at the 2019 IndyFringe and Kansas City’s Best of Fringe award in 2022. In 2023, she received a grant from the Kentucky Foundation for Women to film her first comedy special.
Also on the show are comics Lena Beamish and Hillary Boston.
TEN20 Clarksville will have beer, drinks and pizza available for purchase.
Use Promo Code MANDEE and save $5 on tickets while they last.
Spend your Valentine’s Day with laughs, beer and pizza at the TEN20 Taproom in Clarksville, IN.
It will be a great time with comics from across the region: Indianapolis comic Laura Cord, Cincinnati comic Katie Gayer and Louisville favorites Bonita Elery, Cali Botkin and host Hillary Boston.
Use Promo Code VALENTINE and save $10 per ticket, while they last.
A list of the upcoming comedy shows and open mics in the Louisville area. Plus, a chance to win tickets.
WEIRD AL TICKET GIVEAWAY
Louisville Laughs and Live Nation are offering a pair of tickets to see Weird Al Yankovic on his Bigger & Weirder 2026 Tour at the KFC Yum! Center on Sunday, June 14, at 7:30 p.m. Register here
7:30 p.m. — Wednesday Night Open Mic with host Creig Ewing and special guest Jesse Johnson, The Caravan Comedy Club. TicketsTo sign up to perform, email CaravanOpenMic@gmail.com
Sundays — The Sunday Sh!t Show, all-entertainment showcase with Uncool Randy, Planet of the Tapes. Message @UncoolRandy on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Starting Nov. 10, signups will start at 5 p.m. and show at 5:30
Sundays — Comedy Attack! open mic, Kaiju. First Sunday of the month. Show up and sign upstarting at 9:30 p.m.
Mondays — The Planet of the Tapes Monday Mic, Planet of the Tapes. Show starts at 7:30 p.m. To sign up, email planetofthetapesopenmic@gmail.com
A list of the upcoming comedy shows and open mics in the Louisville area. Plus, a chance to win tickets.
WEIRD AL TICKET GIVEAWAY
Louisville Laughs and Live Nation are offering a pair of tickets to see Weird Al Yankovic on his Bigger & Weirder 2026 Tour at the KFC Yum! Center on Sunday, June 14, at 7:30 p.m. Register here
5:30 p.m. — The Sunday Sh!t Show, all-entertainment showcase with Uncool Randy, Planet of the Tapes. Signups starting at 5 p.m.
TO SIGN UP FOR OPEN MICS
Sundays — The Sunday Sh!t Show, all-entertainment showcase with Uncool Randy, Planet of the Tapes. Message @UncoolRandy on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Starting Nov. 10, signups will start at 5 p.m. and show at 5:30
Sundays — Comedy Attack! open mic, Kaiju. First Sunday of the month. Show up and sign upstarting at 9:30 p.m.
Mondays — The Planet of the Tapes Monday Mic, Planet of the Tapes. Show starts at 7:30 p.m. To sign up, email planetofthetapesopenmic@gmail.com
One way to get booked more often is to have a strong social media presence and lots of followers. But what you post on social media can also be red flags that turn off bookers.
First, you should definitely have a social media presence that is tied to your name or whatever name you use for comedy. You should use that to promote shows you are on, engage with people, post GOOD clips and get your name out there.
But here are red flags. If I check your social media and see these things, it may keep me from booking you.
Notice its not a Wordy Five or a Meandering Five. When you are working on your material and performing on stage, cut out words, phrases and sentences that aren’t leading to a laugh.
Look at your five minutes. Where do you expect the audience to laugh? What information do you need to get there? Get rid of anything that isn’t needed. You might find room for even more laughs.
When you have your material honed and ready, get to it. If you can get a laugh in your first 30 seconds on stage, you have the audience hooked.
Don’t waste that time asking the audience, “How’s everyone doing tonight?” or to “Give it up for the host and all the comics they’ve seen.”
Also, don’t ask the audience if they are familiar with whatever topic you are about to tell them about.
So often I see comics do this:
“Does anyone remember the band from the 1980s, Hootie and the Blowfish?”
90% of the time the audience will be silent, 9% of the time it will encourage some drunk to shout that they once blew a fish. He will get a laugh and, emboldened, talk all night.
Even worse, that was your punchline.
So find a better way to get into your Hootie and the Blowfish joke.
A list of the upcoming comedy shows and open mics in the Louisville area. Plus, a chance to win tickets.
WEIRD AL TICKET GIVEAWAY
Louisville Laughs and Live Nation are offering a pair of tickets to see Weird Al Yankovic on his Bigger & Weirder 2026 Tour at the KFC Yum! Center on Sunday, June 14, at 7:30 p.m. Register here
7:30 p.m. — Wednesday Night Open Mic with guest host Samuel Lee and special guest June Dempsey, The Caravan Comedy Club. TicketsTo sign up to perform, email CaravanOpenMic@gmail.com
10 p.m. — Comedy Attack open mic, Kaiju. Free. Signups at 9:30 p.m.
Monday, Jan. 5
7:30 p.m. — Planet of the Tapes Monday Mic, Planet of the Tapes. To sign up to perform, email planetofthetapesopenmic@gmail.com. Free admission
Tuesday, Jan. 6
7 p.m. –Funny-4-Food Open Mic Night, Louisville Comedy Club. Online sign ups at openmicer.com. Free admission. Every performer is asked to bring a non-perishable food donation.
9 p.m. — The Behind The Bar Show open mic, Mr. G’s, Middletown. Show up and sign up
10 p.m. — Stand & Deliver variety open mic, Kaiju. Signups at 9:30 p.m.
Sundays — The Sunday Sh!t Show, all-entertainment showcase with Uncool Randy, Planet of the Tapes. Message @UncoolRandy on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Starting Nov. 10, signups will start at 5 p.m. and show at 5:30
Sundays — Comedy Attack! open mic, Kaiju. First Sunday of the month. Show up and sign upstarting at 9:30 p.m.
Mondays — The Planet of the Tapes Monday Mic, Planet of the Tapes. Show starts at 7:30 p.m. To sign up, email planetofthetapesopenmic@gmail.com
If you are at the point in your standup comedy “career,” where you’re trying to get booked on shows or get booked more often, here are 10 tips to work on for 2026:
Make your material about you
Standup isn’t just telling jokes about stuff. The audience wants to connect with you. If you are doing material about airplane food and “remember this movie that came out in 1993?” what do they know about you? Mine material from your life or that reflects your unique point of view.
Don’t read notes on stage
Comedy is making a connection with the audience. Reading from notes breaks that connection. Reading notes from your phone really breaks the connection.
Alternately, don’t have your material so memorized it seems like you’re reciting by rote. You want it to seem like you are having a conversation with the audience and you’ve never uttered these words before, even though you’ve told these jokes a thousand times.
Be confident
No one will laugh at your jokes if you don’t believe they will. So be confident every time you perform that the audience is going to crack up. You got this.
If your set does not go well, you can’t get down. One of the hardest things you have to learn early in comedy is to push through setbacks and find a way to get the laughs the next time.
Don’t be too confident
The Catch-22 of comedy is that you need to be confident, but we have seen many comics who bomb time and time again with the same stuff and think they did great.
Don’t be that comic. Always be willing to improve material. The audience is the ultimate judge of whether your jokes are funny or not. Listen to them.
Read the room
You’re at a VFW post. All the guys and half the women are wearing red MAGA hats. Probably not the best time for those Trump jokes. That’s an easy call, though.
Pay attention to the audience when other comics are performing. If they bristle at certain subjects or respond well to others, use that information to your advantage.
Be professional
If you are reaching out to a booker or club about being on a show or open mic, you don’t have to try to be funny. Just be professional. And include your name.
You would not believe how many emails I get from comics where the email address is something like 69champ@yahoo.com asking to be on a show. They don’t leave a name or anything. Don’t make the booker respond to ask who the heck you are.
Work clean if you can
There are lots of comics that are funny but too dirty for many of the shows I put on at breweries or wineries and such. If you can have at least a PG-13 set, it opens up a lot more options. No one has ever complained that a show was too clean.
Be prepared
If you are ready to reach out to be booked, you should have decent headshot of you with a plain background (not you on a dark stage with a microphone), a good video of you doing 5 minutes with audience laughing and email address and social media that make it easy to find you.
If you don’t want your family or co-workers to know you are doing standup, you are not ready to be booked.
Be easy to reach
Your first big break may be a call from the club saying they need a host that night. Or bookers may reach out asking if you want to be on an upcoming show. If you check your emails, texts or messages once a week, bookers are going to move on.
Promote yourself and your shows
If you are serious about comedy, you should have social media accounts to promote upcoming shows. These should be in whatever name you use to perform. Bookers and clubs love comics who promote shows. When you do, be confident in your posts, such as “ This show I’m on Friday is going to be great!”
Not, “I don’t know if I’m all that funny and don’t know any of these other comics on the show but if you’re not doing anything else on Friday, come on out, I guess,” which I see all the time.
If the booker gives you a flyer for the show, use it to promote.
Want more?
Louisville Laughs is offering Comedy Writing and Performing classes on Feb. 21 and 22 at TEN20 Craft Brewery in Louisville with instructors including Keith McGill and Bret Sohl.
Louisville Laughs has several opportunities for stage time open to any comics in January and beyond, including Joke-Off, open mics and a couple spots available for the Caravan Comedy Contest.
Be a part of Joke-Off 2026! 24 comics will compete head-to-head in pairs performing jokes up to a minute long. The audience and judges Mandee McKelvey, Keith McGill and Sean Smith decide which is funnier until only the Joke-Off champ is left.
A couple spots remain. Comics who make the finals will perform four times.
A list of the upcoming comedy shows and open mics in the Louisville area. Plus, a chance to win tickets.
WEIRD AL TICKET GIVEAWAY
Louisville Laughs and Live Nation are offering a pair of tickets to see Weird Al Yankovic on his Bigger & Weirder 2026 Tour at the KFC Yum! Center on Sunday, June 14, at 7:30 p.m. Register here
10 p.m. — Comedy Attack open mic, Kaiju. Free. Signups at 9:30 p.m.
Monday, Jan. 5
7:30 p.m. — Planet of the Tapes Monday Mic, Planet of the Tapes. To sign up to perform, email planetofthetapesopenmic@gmail.com. Free admission
8 p.m. — Monday Night Raw comedy open mic, Da Frog, New Albany, IN. Sign ups begin at 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 6
7 p.m. –Funny-4-Food Open Mic Night, Louisville Comedy Club. Online sign ups at openmicer.com. Free admission. Every performer is asked to bring a non-perishable food donation.
9 p.m. — The Behind The Bar Show open mic, Mr. G’s, Middletown. Show up and sign up
10 p.m. — Stand & Deliver variety open mic, Kaiju. Signups at 9:30 p.m.
Sundays — The Sunday Sh!t Show, all-entertainment showcase with Uncool Randy, Planet of the Tapes. Message @UncoolRandy on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Starting Nov. 10, signups will start at 5 p.m. and show at 5:30
Sundays — Comedy Attack! open mic, Kaiju. First Sunday of the month. Show up and sign upstarting at 9:30 p.m.
Mondays — The Planet of the Tapes Monday Mic, Planet of the Tapes. Show starts at 7:30 p.m. To sign up, email planetofthetapesopenmic@gmail.com
Mondays — Monday Night Raw comedy open mic, Da Frog, New Albany, IN. Sign ups begin at 7 p.m.
A list of the upcoming comedy shows and open mics in the Louisville area. Plus, a chance to win tickets.
WEIRD AL TICKET GIVEAWAY
Louisville Laughs and Live Nation are offering a pair of tickets to see Weird Al Yankovic on his Bigger & Weirder 2026 Tour at the KFC Yum! Center on Sunday, June 14, at 7:30 p.m.Register here
7:30 p.m. — Wednesday Night Open Mic with guest host Kate Kremers and special guest Lucious Williams, The Caravan Comedy Club. TicketsTo sign up to perform, email CaravanOpenMic@gmail.com
10 p.m. — Comedy Attack open mic, Kaiju. Free. Signups at 9:30 p.m.
Monday, Jan. 5
7:30 p.m. — Planet of the Tapes Monday Mic, Planet of the Tapes. To sign up to perform, email planetofthetapesopenmic@gmail.com. Free admission
8 p.m. — Monday Night Raw comedy open mic, Da Frog, New Albany, IN. Sign ups begin at 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 6
7 p.m. –Funny-4-Food Open Mic Night, Louisville Comedy Club. Online sign ups at openmicer.com. Free admission. Every performer is asked to bring a non-perishable food donation.
9 p.m. — The Behind The Bar Show open mic, Mr. G’s, Middletown. Show up and sign up
10 p.m. — Stand & Deliver variety open mic, Kaiju. Signups at 9:30 p.m.
5:30 p.m. — The Sunday Sh!t Show, all-entertainment showcase with Uncool Randy, Planet of the Tapes. Signups starting at 5 p.m.
TO SIGN UP FOR OPEN MICS
Sundays — The Sunday Sh!t Show, all-entertainment showcase with Uncool Randy, Planet of the Tapes. Message @UncoolRandy on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Starting Nov. 10, signups will start at 5 p.m. and show at 5:30
Sundays — Comedy Attack! open mic, Kaiju. First Sunday of the month. Show up and sign upstarting at 9:30 p.m.
Mondays — The Planet of the Tapes Monday Mic, Planet of the Tapes. Show starts at 7:30 p.m. To sign up, email planetofthetapesopenmic@gmail.com
Mondays — Monday Night Raw comedy open mic, Da Frog, New Albany, IN. Sign ups begin at 7 p.m.
