Blue Ridge Comedy Festival 2026

Welcome to the Blue Ridge Comedy Festival.  We are excited to host our fourth comedy festival held in beautiful Bristol, TN/VA. 

Please fill out the submission form below for your chance to perform in a ridiculously fun comedy festival.

This year we will have a competitive group and a showcase group.  Please indicate how you would prefer to participate in the Festival.

Blue Ridge Comedy Festival Competition - Offering $1,000 in prize money

We are searching for the next great comedian.  Through this competition we expect to find a headliner.    Every previous winner has headlined Blue Ridge Comedy Club within a year of winning the competition.  Previous winners include: Travis Stevenson, Jojo Casillas, Wellington Juku, and Meredith Kerr.

Here's how the competition works.  

The Blue Ridge Comedy Festival Committee will review all submissions and choose 24 comedians to invite to compete.  

December 10

Preliminaries:   24  comedians will perform 5 minutes of standup comedy.  This will take place over the course of two shows on the same night.  A panel of judges will grade those comedians on three criteria Originality, Stage Presence, Audience Reaction.  The audience will be able to vote for their top 3 as well and that will be factored in as 20% of the total score.  The top 5 comedians from each show will move on to the Semi-Finals.

December 11

Semi-Finals: 10 comedians will perform 8 minutes of standup comedy. A panel of judges and audience vote determine the winners as previously mentioned. The top 4 comedians will advance to the Finals.

December 12

Finals: 4 comedians will perform 15 minutes of standup comedy. A panel of judges and audience vote determine the winners as previously mentioned.

Winners are announced along with Prize Money.

1st Place: $500
2nd Place:$300
3rd Place:$150
4th Place:$50

All applicants are invited to join in the fun and will be granted all-access passes should they decide to attend, regardless of their acceptance status. We will have at least one social event, a panel, headshot opportunities, and more that everyone who applies may take advantage of. 

Date

Dec  10 - 12, 2026

The Festival Competition will take place at our Main Location.  

Showcase Opportunites

Here's how the showcase spots work.

The Blue Ridge Comedy Festival Committee will review all submissions and choose 4 comedians that we would like to invite to Bristol. Those comedians will recieve at least 2 spots on shows during the Festival as well as invitations to all panels, and activities.  It'll be a fun time.

*$25 submission fee must be paid by October 11 to be eligible. 

 Completing an application does not guarantee a spot in the festival.   All submissions will be reviewed and considered by a committee to ensure a high-quality experience for both comedians and the audience.