Festival
2025 Blue Ridge Comedy Festival Lineup!
We can't wait to see these folks hit the stage, don't miss your chance to see some of the country's best talent all in one place!
Alan Moreau (Providence, RI)
Alan Moreau first honed his comedic chops riding the bench for his college basketball team and has since parlayed his quick wit into a standup career. Audiences never experience the same set twice when the Rhode Island native is on stage, as he is able to turn a standard show into a one of a kind conversation.
Alan has been a featured performer in the Rogue Island Comedy Festival, Whale City Comedy Festival, and DC Comedy Festival. He has opened for numerous national acts such as Mark Normand, Joe List, and Jenny Zigrino. When Alan is not on stage he is training elite basketball players, mentoring the youth, or taking a nap.
Cale Moore (Richmond, VA)
Cale Moore is a transplant from the flyover states whose modest Midwest charm brings you along for the ride as he ventures from relationships to alien conspiracy theories and everything in between. He is a two-time winner of the Funny Bone Clash of Comics and has featured in festivals across the country including the Last Best Comedy Fest, the North Carolina Comedy Festival, and the Portland Comedy Festival
Dan Bublitz Jr (Loveland, CO)
Dan Bublitz Jr is a comedian known for his one-man show, It Was Supposed to Be a Love Story, and Dry Bar Comedy Special Use Your Imagination. In 2025, Dan was a featured performer in a showcase-style comedy special called Live in Loveland, which is streaming on Tubi and AppleTV. His comedy style can be described as upbeat storytelling sprinkled with silly one-liners. Dan has appeared in films & commercials, and his comedy has appeared on Comedy Time TV, Pandora, Spotify, and Amazon Prime.
Heather Joyce (Fredericksburg, VA)
Jordan Centry (Charlotte, NC)
Jordan Centry has always had a love for comedy, and has a knack for approaching everyday observations and experiences with intelligence, silliness, and a touch of southern that audiences find hilarious and charming.
Jordan has performed in festivals and clubs across the east coast, having opened for notable comics like Colin Quinn, Mike Goodwin, TJ Miller, and Geoffrey Asmus. He was recently selected to perform in Don’t Tell Comedy’s Southeast showcase for their first-ever comedy competition.
Jordan has also been featured in local and nationwide news media, appearing in WBTV, Queen City News, and CNBC
Lisa Rimmert (Columbus, GA)
Lisa Rimmert is a Georgia-based stand-up comedian who performs all over the country. She has worked with giants like Bobcat Goldthwait, TJ Miller, Steve Hofstetter, and Lisa Ann Walter, at venues like The Comedy Catch, Louisville Comedy Club, and the Laughing Skull Lounge. Her resume of festivals includes the North Carolina Comedy Festival, Cleveland Comedy Festival, and Burbank Comedy Festival, at which she was chosen one of the Best of the Fest in 2024. Lisa published her first book, an award-winning memoir titled Stay: My Forever Friendship with an Aging Dog, in 2022. She's currently working on a second, and, yes, it is also about dogs.
Matt McArthur (Quincy, MA)
Matt McArthur discovered his love of doing stand up comedy as a college student, and since has been performing at clubs and venues all over New England.
As well as being a comedian, Matt also became a professional bagpiper at a young age, and since has been performing at churches and cemeteries all over New England.
A regular on the Boston comedy scene, Matt has shared the stage with names such as Gary Gulman, Annie Lederman, and Jim Gaffigan.
Monty Giles
Camera Shy?
Nora Jeffries (Brooklyn, NY)
Nora Jeffries is a queer comedian based in Brooklyn, just like the rest of your friends. She hosts the monthly standup showcase Regular Thing, as well as the monthly queer benefit show Well Well Well. She can be found all over the country touring and performing in comedy festivals such as San Francisco Sketchfest, Bergamot Comedy Festival, and New Orleans’ Hell Yes Fest, among others. You will probably run into her in a bar basement sometime soon.
Pete Smack (Raleigh, NC)
Pete Smack is a (clean) comedian based in Raleigh, N.C.
He has performed at the World Series of Comedy and the North Carolina Comedy Festival. In September 2025, he staged and filmed his first one-man standup show/comedy special “Last Man Standing.”
Standup comedy is his sixth career. The first five were: investment banker for Goldman Sachs; sportswriter for Sports Illustrated; comedy writer for TV/film; Co-Founder of a tech startup; and tech startup publication Founding Editor. You know, that old drill.
Onstage, Pete shares relatable stories about his family, aging parents, his varied careers, and growing up short, all mixed with a touch of the absurd. If you're really nice to him, he might share the recipe to his famous breakfast smoothie.
Ryan Gordon (Asheville, NC)
Born and raised in the mountains of Appalachia, Ryan started his comedy journey in nearby Asheville. His comedy focuses a lot on his journey through recovery and intertwines dark subject matters with what he calls “subliminal hope.” His comedic videos on social media have gained him over 300K followers and he has been in a number of comedy festivals including the World Series of Comedy, Lookout Comedy Festival, and Raleigh Comedy Festival.
Stephanie Goldklang (NY, NY)
Stephanie Goldklang is a New York City based Comedian who has performed all over the country and internationally in Italy, England, and the Bahamas since 2017. She was Best of the Fest in the Burbank Comedy Festival in 2022 in Los Angeles, California, and selected as a Top 100 Comedian in the World Series of Comedy 2023, 2024, and 2025 Tours.
Stephanie was a Semi-Finalist in the Laughing Buddha Comedy Festival 2024 in New York City. Most recently Stephanie has been a featured performer at the Atlantic City Comedy Club at the Tropicana, the Punchline in Philadelphia, the Kenan Presents Showcase at Jimmy Kimmel's Comedy Club in Las Vegas, Planet Hollywood Vegas, and the Jokers Wild Comedy Club at the Atlantis. Stephanie recently opened for Tony Rock at the Laugh Factory in Hollywood and performs regularly at Flappers Comedy Club in Burbank. Stephanie can be found performing regularly at the New York Comedy Club and the West Side Comedy Club in Manhattan.
Ben Stewart (Georgetown, IN)
Ben Stewart is a married father of three who spent five years in the US Navy as a mechanic, which his Grandfather says, "Barely counts as service". Ben’s comedy pulls from his experience trying to parent three young boys without picking a favorite.
Charlie Waring (Richmond VA)
Charlie Waring is a comedian based out of Richmond Virginia. He has performed all over the country including national comedy festivals. He has worked as an opener for big name comics including Brian Posehn, Eddie Pepitone and Rich Vos. He has also featured several times for Don’t Tell Comedy.
Darrick Ervin II (Chicago, IL)
“Hear me out...” Darrick Ervin II is the kind of comic who isn't afraid to take you to places most people avoid—places that are a little uncomfortable, a little too real, but ultimately hilarious. Think of his act as a comedic courtroom, where he stands as both prosecutor and defendant, using laughter as his weapon of choice to expose uncomfortable truths and poke fun at the status quo. He’s not just telling jokes; he’s daring you to think, to question, and to laugh so hard you can’t help but whoop, howl, and guffaw.
Hailing from the West Side of Detroit, Darrick is a former college athlete (tall enough to play basketball—just barely) and a University of Michigan grad who’s mastered the fine art of mischief. His bad decisions as a globetrotting entrepreneur, professional gambler, and perennial ex-boyfriend have provided him with a treasure trove of uproarious stories.
You can catch Darrick on any stage that forgot to lock its door. He’ll bring the heat, whether it’s a packed theater or a dive bar where the AC barely works. He’s performed at clubs across North America, including the legendary Mark Ridley’s Comedy Castle, East Austin Comedy Club, Zaines, Laugh Factory Chicago Rick Brunson's House of Comedy and more. This year, Darrick delivered a TEDx talk and earned "Best of Fest" honors at the Windsor Comedy Festival in Canada.
Joey Nickel (Jacksonville, FL)
Since his stand-up comedy debut at the eighth-grade talent show, Joey Nickel has been dedicated to spreading joy through humor. In 2014, he boldly decided to leave his job at Apple, relying solely on stand-up comedy (and his wife's income) to support his family of five. He has since starred in the popular web series "Comedy Super Friends," appeared in season 12 of America's Got Tallent, and won the Savannah Comedy Revue Competition. He also co-hosts a weekly podcast "Today Is . . . With Joey & Bobby"
Katherine Rogue (Blacksburg, VA)
Katherine Rogue is a staple of the Blacksburg VA comedy scene. Her minivan humor can take a sharp turn as she explores observations from parenting, general life, and the upcoming doom of menopause. Katherine has been a first round loser in Game of Jokes, the Ultimate Comic Challenge, and Blue Ridge Comedy Knockout. She produces shows in the New River Valley of Virginia and performs throughout Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee.
Madison Bergstedt (Greensboro, NC)
Madison Bergstedt is a comedian from Greensboro, North Carolina. Her sheltered homeschooled upbringing and odd jobs in the fashion industry give Madison a unique view of the world and many zany stories. She has been featured on Don’t tell Comedy and opened for the comics like Kevin McCaffrey and Mary Mack!
Mudit Verma (Clarksburg, MD)
Mudit Verma is a Maryland-based comedian who has toured all over the US and was conceived in a petri dish via IVF. With over 3,500 YouTube subscribers, Mudit has generated a robust following as he caters to a variety of audiences with a quirky lens as an expensive test tube baby who was an only-child growing up in a Hindu household. Mudit has completed residency programs at East Austin, Broadway, & Greenwich Village comedy clubs and has performed at many festivals including Very Big Very Asian (NYC), Flagship City (Erie, PA) Portland (Maine), Rise (Denver, CO), Baltimore, DC, and The Comedy Chateau Annual International Comedy Festivals. Mudit also earned Best of the Fest at the 2022 Burbank Comedy Festival and he has headlined in Washington, DC (DC Arts Center) and Honolulu, HI, and Columbia, MD. Ultimately, Mudit brings a dynamic performance packed with punchlines which is bound to captivate any and all arrays of comedy crowds.
Noell Appling (Atlanta, GA)
Noell Appling is a resident comedian at various venues, including the Best of Atlanta Comedy Showcase.
Paul Snyder (Fort Mill, SC)
Paul Snyder is a rising star in the world of comedy, known for his unique blend of humor and relatable storytelling. A regular performer at clubs and theaters nationwide, Paul released his debut Dry Bar Comedy special, “I Left the House for This”, in August 2024. The special’s first clip has already garnered over 1.9 million views on YouTube. His comedy offers a mix of personal anecdotes and observational humor that resonates with audiences of all ages. With a laid-back delivery and a knack for making even the smallest crowds feel like old friends, Paul’s performances are consistently warm, engaging, and entertaining.
Raj Suresh (NY, NY)
Raj Suresh (Netflix Is A Joke Fest, Comedy Dynamics, SiriusXM, AppleTV, Founder - Big Diamond Comedy Festival) jokes about cats, India, and his comedy adventures in the US and abroad. He lives in New York City which provides new material every day (while also hurting his feelings).
His new special, "Break The Leg" (acquired by Comedy Dynamics), is now available on Tubi, AppleTV, YouTube, Prime Video, Google Play, Vimeo (international) and more.
Shawna Blake (Tulsa, OK)
Shawna Blake is the hilarious embodiment of confidence and chaos. With a mic in one hand and your attention in the other she delivers bold, unfiltered comedy that is somehow as sexy as it is silly. Her comedy struts the line between powerful and playfulness, with razor-sharp takes on dating, identity, family and the occasional sultry snapchat message. She's a one-woman revolution with a punchline.”
Mack (Chuckey, TN)
