Tag: open mic

Louisville Laughs has some terrific shows planned for September. Check them out, save money with Promo Codes and come enjoy some laughs.

Wednesday Open Mic

TEN20 Craft Brewery, Butchertown

Wednesday, Sept. 16, 7 p.m.

Free tickets

Join Louisville Laughs for our weekly comedy open mic at TEN20 Craft Brewery in Butchertown.

The Sept. 16 show features guest host Georgia Hensley and special guest Sean Smith and a stacked lineup of comics.

All donations will be given to our friend Danny Hucks, who is going through a tough time.

Come out for a night of laughs, craft beer, healing, pizza, nachos and more from Scratch Kitchen & Catering. 

Comedy Night at Gravely

Gravely Brewing Co.

Thursday, Sept. 17, 7:30 p.m.

Free tickets

Join Louisville Laughs on Thursday, Sept. 17, at Gravely Brewing Co. in Nulu for our monthly standup comedy showcase.

September’s show features comics Cory Miller, Jordan Berry, Caroline Houchins, Ethan Cash, Aimee Jewell, Buelo, Kristen Saunders and Devon Wells.

Come out for a night of laughter, craft beer and delicious food.

Clarksville Comedy Fridays

TEN20 Clarksville Taproom

Friday, Sept. 18, 7:30 p.m.

Tickets

Join Louisville Laughs for our monthly standup comedy show at the TEN20 Clarksville Taproom.

September’s show features Cincinnati comedian Zach Wycuff.

Zach is a nationally touring clean stand-up comedian with a Dry Bar Comedy special and has twice been named Funniest Person In Cincinnati. 

Joining Zach will be featured comic Bonita Elery.

Use Promo Code ZACH and get tickets for just $5 while they last.

See you in Clarksville for a night of laughs, craft beer and pizza.

Comedy at Roselynn Hill Winery

Roselynn Hill Winery, Jeffersontown

Saturday, Sept. 19, 7:30 p.m.

Tickets

Join Louisville Laughs on Saturday, Sept. 19, at Roselynn Hill Winery in Jeffersontown for a night of comedy with Mike Larsen.

Mike performs comedy across the country and has written for many popular sitcoms, including The Drew Carey Show, Whoopi and 2 Guys & a Girl.

In addition to touring, Mike puts on joke-writing workshops.

Also on the show are Louisville comics and Funniest Person In Louisville finalists Jordan Berry and Desirae Duncan.

Use Promo Code MIKE and save $5 per ticket, while available.

Louisville vs. Lexington Comedy Battle

TEN20 Craft Brewery, Butchertown

Sunday, Sept. 20, 7 p.m.

Tickets

Some of our favorite comics from Louisville and Lexington go head-to-head, and the audience decides which city is funnier!

Louisville comics
Will McKenzie
Ben Stewart
Jazmin Smith
Johnny Doss

Lexington comics
Mike Fields
Alex Hernandez
Rylan Owens
Amber Lee Hill

Use Promo Code LOULEX and save $5 per ticket while they last.

Join us for a night of fun, craft beer, pizza, tacos and more.

Wednesday Open Mic

TEN20 Craft Brewery, Butchertown

Wednesdays, 7 p.m.

Free

Join Louisville Laughs every Wednesday at TEN20 Craft Brewery in Butchertown for our comedy open mic.

Enjoy a night of laughter, craft beer and delicious food.

And sign up HERE if you want to perform on stage.

Can you please stop asking questions?

Comics love to ask the audience questions, but it’s usually a crutch, and a bad idea unless you are the host working the crowd.

For example, you have a joke about the movie Ferris Bueller.

You ask the audience, “Anyone here remember the movie, Ferris Bueller?”

Half the audience is too young to remember the movie; the other half is wary that you’re going to call on them and do cringy crowd work. So, everyone’s silent.

Now, you are boxed into the corner of saying, “Really? No one has heard of Ferris Bueller? It has Matthew Broderick and What’s-Her-Name in it?”

And then you limp into the Ferris Bueller joke with your confidence shot.

Wait a minute, Creig. Are you talking about all questions? What about when I get to the mic and say, “How’s everyone doing tonight?”

Please stop asking that question. It’s awkward and no one responds. Think of a better way to seem like you care about the audience.

Do you ask questions, Creig?

Yes, sometimes I do and usually regret it. Usually as an awkward segue into my dog jokes. “Is this a dog crowd?” There are better ways to transition.

Aren’t there good uses of questions?

Sure, but don’t ask, “Anyone here remember what happened on Season 2, Episode 3 of Star Trek: Next Generation? No one will respond. Will that keep you from doing your Star Trek joke? No. Then stop asking and just do the joke.

What is a good example of a question?

You could be really absurd, like asking if people have ever heard of cats. Or asking if people know something very esoteric. Basically, if the question itself is part of the joke and you can riff off a response or no response.

And if you do crowd work you pretty much have to ask questions, but you better be ready with answers.

What’s the bottom line?

Don’t set up your bits by asking if the audience is familiar with whatever subject you are about to tell a joke about. It will not get a reaction 99% of the time and drains all the momentum you’ve built up. You have built up momentum, haven’t you?

Got it? How’s everyone doing tonight? Good luck.

A lot of fun is planned for August from Louisville Laughs. Check out these free shows and come enjoy some laughs.

Wednesday Comedy Open Mic

TEN20 Craft Brewery, Butchertown

Wednesday, Aug. 19, 7 p.m.

Free tickets

See you on Wednesday, Aug. 19, at TEN20 Craft Brewery in Butchertown for our weekly comedy open mic.

Your host is Ben Scobee and special guest is Desirae Duncan.

Come out for a night of laughs, craft beer and pizza, nachos and more from Sractch Kitchen & Catering.

Comedy Night at Gravely Open Mic

Gravely Brewing Co.

Thursday, Aug. 20, 7:30 p.m.

Free tickets

Join Louisville Laughs for our monthly Comedy Night at Gravely.

The Aug. 20 show is a comedy open mic hosted by Misty Stine.

Come out for a night of laughs, craft beer and delicious food.

Clarksville Comedy Open Mic

TEN20 Clarksville Taproom

Friday, Aug. 21, 7:30 p.m.

Free tickets

See you on the sunny side on Friday, Aug. 21, at the TEN20 Clarksville Taproom for our monthly comedy open mic from Louisville Laughs.

Your host is Trevor Johnson and special guest is Lena Beamish.

See you there for a night of laughs, craft beer and pizza.

I have seen approximately 3 billion comics perform on open mics and shows. Certain topics come up again and again.

Some of these can lead to well-crafted jokes. Others should be retired.

Just be aware that if you do jokes on these topics you need to have a unique angle. These paths are well worn.

Can you get laughs with them? Sure. But if you can have a unique voice, all the better.

I know I look like …

Once when I reviewed video clips from comics, six comics in a row opened with an “I look like” joke.

Granted, this can be funny, if you actually look like a Dollar General version of a famous actor.

But I also hear comics say thing like, “I know I look like I have ADHD.” What does that even look like?

Or, I know I look like I like Star Wars. Unless you’re wearing a Chewbacca costume, no you don’t.

Dating apps

Anyone on the dating apps? Apparently 100% of comics are.

There are a million ways you can go with dating and dating apps jokes. Just be aware that this field is pretty well trampled, so look for a fresh take.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t molested as a kid …

So many jokes by guys who weren’t molested by priests, Jeffrey Epstein or hot teachers.

If have seen comics pull this off and also comics lose the crowd.

Bonnie Blue/porn

One adult actress has sex with a thousand guys in one day and some comics can’t stop talking about it.

Guys who perform on open mics appear to have a lot more expertise in porn than the audience member and might need to dumb down their porn jokes a bit.

I’m not gay but …

If you start jokes like this, we’re immediately searching for you on Grinder, buddy.

CPAP machines

CPAP machines were funny at first, but now everyone is doing jokes about them.

And when you joke about how difficult it is to have sex with them on, we wonder why you don’t consider taking them off for a couple minutes.

I identify as …

We see this punchline coming a mile away, and the they/them has worn off of it.

Hating your kids or spouse

Can’t you just be frustrated by your kids? Why so much hate for your wife?

Maybe talk about why your kids/spouse are such a challenge instead of assuming everyone hates them?

Casual racism

Whit people don’t season food; Asian people can’t drive; Black folks are always late.

Who here likes to get high?

I’m not sure if this is a start of a bit or you just forgot how high you are.

Honorable mention

Lesbians and Subarus

Bidets

I might get cancelled

A lot of fun is planned for July from Louisville Laughs. Check out what’s on tap and come enjoy some laughs.

Check out the Promo Codes for savings.

Wednesday Comedy Open Mic

TEN20 Craft Brewery, Butchertown

Wednesday, July 15, 7 p.m.

Free tickets

Join Louisville Laughs for a comedy open mic with comics from across the region on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. at TEN20 Craft Brewery in Butchertown.

The lineup for July 15 includes guest host Jazmin Smith and special guest Mista G’Cue in from California.

Enjoy a night of laughter, craft beer, pizza, nachos and more.

Comedy Night at Gravely Open Mic

Gravely Brewing Co.

Thursday, July 16, 7:30 p.m.

Free tickets

Join Louisville Laughs for our monthly comedy open mic at Gravely Brewing in Nulu.

Your host is Creig Ewing.

Come out for a night of standup comedy, craft beer and delicious food.

Clarksville Comedy Open Mic

TEN20 Clarksville Taproom

Friday, July 17, 7:30 p.m.

Free tickets

Join Louisville Laughs on Friday, July 17, for our monthly comedy open mic at the TEN20 Taproom in Clarksville, IN.

The show features guest host Sean Turley and special guest Luke Fitzerald.

Come out for a night of laughs, craft beer and pizza.

Sunday Laughs at TEN20

TEN20 Craft Brewery, Butchertown

Sunday, July 19, 7 p.m.

Tickets

Join Louisville Laughs on Sunday, July 19, for a standup comedy showcase.

Comics include Lucious Williams, who just won the Funniest Person In Louisville contest. Plus Mike Nilsson, Donna Watts, Bonita Elery, Lena Beamish, Creig Ewing and host Aimee Jewell.

Come out for a night of laughs, craft beer and delicious food. Use Promo Code SUNDAY19 and save $5 per ticket while they last.

Congratulations! You have a comedy show coming up that you’re on or maybe producing and want to help promote it.

Here are some quick tips to make the most of your social media posts:

Use an image

If you have a flyer, use it to make a post letting people know about the show. I sometimes see people post just a sentence or two of text on Facebook about the show. Nothing else.

If you can’t even bother to slap together a flyer, what makes you think people are going to come to the show?

Include a ticket link

You made a post. You included a flyer and have people’s attention. Include a ticket link in the post or in comments or in linktree or somewhere handy. A QR code on the flyer is nice, but you want to make it as easy as possible for potential audience members to grab tickets.

Promote one show at a time

You may have 4 shows this week at four different venues. Good for you. You can promote them all at once to show off a bit, but you need to promote each separately as well. You give people that many options and they are going to pick none.

When you get to be a headliner touring the country, you can do a post with links to all the cities you’ll be in. For now, take it one at a time.

Don’t just share someone else’s post

If the booker or another comic on the show posts about the show, grab the flyer and create your own posts. Don’t just share or like theirs.

But absolutely do also like theirs. You should engage as much as possible with any post, stories or reels about the show you’re on.

Don’t wait until the day of the show

Ideally, you start promoting a show 2 weeks out or so. Don’t wait until the day of the show to start. People already have plans.

Good luck!

When you are competing in a contest, like the Funniest Person In Louisville contest, you want to get the audience on your side. Here are some things you can do to win the audience over:

Be confident and energetic on stage

Audience members feed off your energy. If you appear comfortable, confident and happy, they will go on the ride with you. Keep your head up, look at the crowd and do your thing.

Avoid body language that makes you look nervous or bored on stage, like looking at the floor with your hands in your pockets or rubbing the back of your neck.

If you look tired of your own material, how do you think the audience feels?

Act like this is the first time you’ve ever told these jokes

Standup is a performance. Your goal is to deliver your set as if you’ve never said these jokes about your mother-in-law before.

I recently saw a comic do crowd work and prepared jokes back and forth. He raced through the prepared jokes at twice the speed like he couldn’t wait to get through them.

If that’s how you feel about your material, how do you think the audience feels?

Skip the controversial stuff

A good comic can do jokes about anything, but certain topics are particularly dangerous.

If you do jokes about politics, you may lose half the room. If you do jokes that are homophobic, transphobic or racist, you will turn off audience members and some judges.

Over the years, we’ve had plenty of audience members rip comics they felt crossed the line on their ballots.

Also, you don’t have to be clean, but if your material is too dirty, you are going to lose votes.

Keep it tight

You can win the audience to your side with a laugh in the first 30 seconds. So go up planning to get that quick laugh. Don’t waste that time asking everyone how they are doing or rambling before you start telling a joke.

Take your time and sell your jokes

You should know what your punchlines are and where you expect/hope the audience to laugh. Emphasize them.

Often, comics will go through their set at the same speed and tone. Help clue the audience in when you expect them to laugh. Pause or speak up. If the audience doesn’t clearly hear the punchline, they aren’t going to laugh.

Also, you should have some feeling about your material and show it. You aren’t an AI joke generator yet. Let people know that you are angry about this thing or confused by that thing or frustrated or happy. Show some emotion.

Look for opportunities

One way to help win over an audience is to include them. For example, you could do a callback to something the host or another comic said or something that happened in the room.

Remember to move the mic stand and don’t run the light.

Good luck!

A lot of fun is planned for the summer, including the start of the Funniest Person In Louisville contest. Check out what’s on tap and come enjoy some laughs.

Sign up to perform on future Louisville Laughs open mics HERE

Wednesday Comedy Open Mic

TEN20 Craft Brewery, Butchertown

Wednesday, May 27, 7 p.m.

Free tickets

Join Louisville Laughs for a comedy open mic with comics from across the region on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. at TEN20 Craft Brewery in Butchertown.

The lineup:

Host: Creig Ewing
Buelo
Jon Bass
Joey G Lee
Misty Stine
Ethan Cash
Andreas Ali
Mista G’Cue
Wes Yunker
Rowan Little
Johnny Doss
Brian Rogers
David Kelley
Elijah Perkins
Hillary Boston
Benjamin James
Special guest: Nathaniel Potts-Wells

Enjoy a night of laughter, craft beer, pizza, nachos and more.

Funniest Person In Louisville Qualifier #1

TEN20 Craft Brewery, Butchertown

Friday, May 29, 7:30 p.m.

Tickets

The Funniest Person In Louisville Contest begins with qualifying round #1 at TEN20 Craft Brewery.

Comics from across the region are competing to be named the Funniest Person In Louisville for 2026 in Amateur and Semi-Pro categories.

The audience helps decide who advances. Use the Promo Code from your favorite contestant or code MAY29 and save $2 on each ticket purchased online.

The lineup:

Amateur
Sean Turley
Devon Wells
Bryce Shell
Kristen Saunders
Kenny Maxberry
Elijah Perkins
Josiah Stine

Semi-Pro
Cody Walker
Ali Hussein
Sherry Hoenicke
Andrew Brown
Joseph Siegel

Special guest
Bonita Elery

Enjoy a night of laughter, craft beer, pizza, nachos and more.

Funniest Person In Louisville Qualifier #2

TEN20 Craft Brewery, Butchertown

Sunday, May 31, 7 p.m.

Tickets

The Funniest Person In Louisville Contest continues with Qualifier #2 at TEN20 Craft Brewery.

The audience helps decide who advances. Use the Promo Code from your favorite contestant or code MAY31 and save $2 on each ticket purchased online.

The lineup:

Amateur
Misty Hurt
Bre Fitz
Brad Brauser
Brian Rogers
Clayton Settle
Michael Wermuth
Charles Edward Davis

Semi-Pro
Ty Leach
Sean T. Hughes
Jacob Israel
Big Jake Hovis

Special guest
Lena Beamish

Enjoy a night of laughter, craft beer, pizza, nachos and more.

Funniest Person In Louisville Qualifier #3

TEN20 Craft Brewery, Butchertown

Wednesday, June 3, 7 p.m.

Tickets

The Funniest Person In Louisville Contest continues with Qualifier #3 at TEN20 Craft Brewery.

The audience helps decide who advances. Use the Promo Code from your favorite contestant or code JUNE3 and save $2 on each ticket purchased online.

The lineup:

Amateur
Ben Scobee
Rowan Little
Danny Cox
Jim Whittenburg
Stevie G
Madison Greenwell
Jennifer Plumm
Big Bill

Semi-Pro
Christian Calaway
Alex Whittenburg
James Andrews
Luke Fitzgerald

Special guest
Todd Probus

Enjoy a night of laughter, craft beer, pizza, nachos and more.

Funniest Person In Louisville Qualifier #4

TEN20 Craft Brewery, Butchertown

Sunday, June 7, 7 p.m.

Tickets

The Funniest Person In Louisville Contest continues with Qualifier #4 at TEN20 Craft Brewery.

The audience helps decide who advances. Use the Promo Code from your favorite contestant or code JUNE7 and save $2 on each ticket purchased online.

The lineup:

Amateur
Buelo
Zach Ryan Sterling
Lynn Benson
Connor Breece
Jazmin Smith
Gavin Ferckel
Griffin Heitz

Semi-Pro
Jamie Shade
Malcolm G
Jan Tatlock
Trina Bean
Rylan Owens

Special guest
Will McKenzie

Enjoy a night of laughter, craft beer, pizza, nachos and more.

Funniest Person In Louisville Qualifier #5

TEN20 Craft Brewery, Butchertown

Wednesday, June 10, 7 p.m.

Tickets

The Funniest Person In Louisville Contest continues with Qualifier #5 at TEN20 Craft Brewery.

The audience helps decide who advances. Use the Promo Code from your favorite contestant or code JUNE10 and save $2 on each ticket purchased online.

The lineup:

Amateur
Dillen Sizemore
Zach Silverstein
Mac Daniels
Josh Burress
Jessica Veech
Trevor Johnston
Tripti Luna Rose

Semi-Pro
Moodie
Jordan Berry
JoJo Jones
Lane Glaze
Trevor St. Clair

Special guest
Danny Hucks

Enjoy a night of laughter, craft beer, pizza, nachos and more.

Funniest Person In Louisville Qualifier #6

Roselynn Hill Winery, Jeffersontown

Saturday, June 13, 7:30 p.m.

Tickets

The Funniest Person In Louisville Contest continues with Qualifier #6 at Roselynn Hill Winery in Jefferontown.

The audience helps decide who advances. Use the Promo Code from your favorite contestant or code JUNE10 and save $2 on each ticket purchased online.

The lineup:

Amateur
Johnny Doss
Luke Roy
Ken Ray
Destiny Jean
Michael Bond
Ethan Cash
Bob Coakley

Semi-Pro
Davy Adkins
Aisha the Comedian
Jammiej
Les Clendenin
Samuel Son

Special guest
Donna Watts

Trellis Brewing Matinee Mic

Trellis Bewing, Logan St.

Sunday, June 14, 5 p.m.

Free tickets

Join Louisville Laughs for our first comedy open mic at Trellis Brewing on Logan Street.

Come out for an evening of laughter, great beer and delicious food.

Comics from across the region will be performing.

The Funniest Person In Louisville contest from Louisville Laughs runs from May 29 until July 9. This year is the biggest ever with 14 shows — 8 qualifying rounds, 4 semifinals and separate Semi-Pro and Amateur finals.

Niney-four standup comics are competing for more than $1,600 in prize money and bookings, including a paid spot on a Laughing Dad show with Danny Browning.

In addition, each show has a special guest closing it out while votes are counted.

Lineups, tickets and information below. Use the Promo Code from your favorite comic and save $ per ticket online in the semifinals.

Semifinal #3

Louisville Comedy Club

Tuesday, July 7, 7 p.m.

Tickets

Lineup with Promo Codes (in parentheses). The Promo Code from your favorite semifinalist will be worth $5 off tickets.

Amateur
Rowan Little (ROWAN)
Lynn Benson (LYNN)
Dillen Sizemore (DILLEN)
Trevor Johnston (TREVOR)
Tripti Luna Rose (TRIPTI)
Destiny Jean (DESTINY)
Desirae Duncan (DESIRAE)

Semi-Pro
Big Jake Hovis (JAKE)
Cody Walker (CODY)
Alex Whittenburg (ALEX)
Rylan Owens (RYLAN)
Aisha The Comedian (AISHA)
Adrian Gomez (ADRIAN)

Special guest
Danny Browning

Semifinal #4

Louisville Comedy Club

Wednesday, July 8, 7 p.m.

Tickets

Lineup with Promo Codes (in parentheses). The Promo Code from your favorite semifinalist will be worth $5 off tickets.

Amateur
Brad Brauser (BRAD)
JoJo Jones (JOJO)
Johnny Doss (JOHNNY)
Ethan Cash (ETHAN)
Katie Gayer (KATIE)
Nicole Donahue (NICOLE)
Misty Hurt (MISTY)

Semi-Pro
Lane Glaze (LANE)
Jordan Berry (JORDAN)
JammieJ (JAMMIE)
Marty Quinn (MARTY)
Bri Munnich (BRI)
Lucious Williams (LUCIOUS)

Special guest
Cory Miller

Semi-pro Final

Louisville Comedy Club

Thursday, July 9, 7 p.m.

Tickets

The Semi-Pro comics who made it through the qualifying and semifinal rounds compete to be named the Funniest Person In Louisville, and the audience helps decide the winner.

Special guest is 2025 winner John Dollar.

Amateur Final

Louisville Comedy Club

Thursday, July 9, 9:30 p.m.

Tickets

The Amateur comics who made it through the qualifying and semifinal rounds compete to be named the Funniest in Louisville, and the audience helps decide the winner.

Special guest is Ben Stewart.

Questions?

Email Louisville Laughs at LouisvilleLaughs2@gmail.com

The most important ingredient to having a good standup comedy show is having an audience. The more people, the better. The good news is that you can help bring people to the show by promoting it.

Yes, the venue should promote the show. But don’t count on that. If the venue has events every night, they may not put much effort into your show. If they don’t often have shows, it’s probably not in anyone’s job description to promote your show.

Yes, the booker should promote the show and hopefully does. But that doesn’t mean you can’t pitch in. It’s like moving a couch. One person can drag it across the floor, or six people can toss it out the door.

Whether you think it’s your job or not, if you get to be known as a comic who doesn’t promote shows or get people out, bookers and club owners will not want to work with you.

Here are some tips to promote shows you are involved with:

Speak only for yourself

Lots of times comics try to be self-deprecating in their promotional posts and say things like, “I don’t know if I’m funny or if anyone else on the show is.”

Do you think that is likely to attract people to come to the show? (Hint: It’s not.)

Other times comics will try attitude like, “Come out to the show on Friday, we comics are gonna f*ck sh!t up!”

Maybe f*cking sh!t up isn’t the vibe the booker or other comics are going for. So don’t speak for them.

Confidence is a key ingredient in comedy. Project confidence in your posts that the audience will have a good time.

Don’t assume you are just promoting to friends and family

If moving up in comedy is your goal, you will need to be a comic who can get more than just the same friends and family to shows. So promote like you have a following of people who enjoy your comedy. Maybe that will manifest.

Even if you are in the stage of your comedy career where your friends are tired of seeing you and you don’t have a following, you are helping by spreading the word on the Internet.

Don’t wait until the day of the show

Ideally, you start promoting a show 2 weeks out or so. Don’t wait until the day of the show to start. People already have plans.

Use the flyer

If the promoter posts a flyer, grab it and create your own posts or reels on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, wherever, using the flyer.

Don’t just share someone else’s post; create your own.

If the promoter makes a flyer specifically for you with your photo on the flyer, definitely use that flyer.

Add a ticket link

You want to make it easy for people who see your post to get tickets, so include a ticket link. Don’t make them hunt for tickets.

Promote one show at a time

Again, for the interest of making it easy on potential audience members, promote one show at a time.

If you have a post that says you will be on three shows this week, then the potential audience members have to figure out if they want to go to one of them and find the ticket link.

Post your shows separately.

Avoid AI without permission

AI flyers are controversial in the comedy and creative world. If you are on a show, don’t create a flyer using AI without asking the booker or club if they are cool with it.

Be creative

Dress up the show flyer (without AI) or make a video promoting the show if that’s your thing.

Good luck!