Moontower Comedy Festival Is Back and Bigger Than Ever

Fred Armisen is one of the headliners for the 2014 Moontower Comedy Festival.

Saturday Night Live alum Fred Armisen is one of the headliners at Moontower Comedy Festival 2014 (Photo credit: austinculturemap.com)

If you haven’t noticed already, I’m a fan of stand-up comedy. Fortunately for me, I live in Austin freaking Texas where the comedy scene has been so successful that Cap City Comedy Club is consistently referred to by nationally-touring comics as one of their favorite clubs. I live in a city where the successes of showcases like Punch! have paved the way for other showcases to take hold throughout town. I live in a city that now has its own comedy festival that’s now in its third year.

It’s a Comedy Buffet!

Moontower Comedy and Oddity Festival is back on April 23–26, 2014. They aren’t pulling any punches this year, as their lineup represents the cream of the crop: nationally-known comics, high-end local performers and a reunion of the vaunted sketch comedy troupe, Kids in the Hall. Marquee comedians like Demetri Martin, Dennis Miller, and Mike Birbiglia are expertly teamed with local talent like Funniest Person in Austin Winners Matt Bearden, Mac Blake and Lucas Molandes, in a mix of shows spanning four nights, ten venues and over 100 performers.

Matt Bearden is one of many local Austin Comics performing this year.

Local comedy legend Matt Bearden will be working the mic and the crowd (Photo credit: statesman.com)

Since comedy comes in different styles and preferences, Moontower Comedy Festival organizers have designed a variety of shows that play to each comedian’s style and audience’s taste. The multi-day event is so vast, it would take two articles to break down the full schedule. So here’s the gist: Each night is divided into two sessions starting at 7 PM.

Yes, this means there will be shows overlapping each other.

“But Dave,” you reply. “How can I see two shows at once?” Well, you can’t, unless you somehow invent a time travel/teleportation device. But you aren’t the only one with this dilemma. I too have to choose whether I want to see Chris Cubas at Cap City Comedy Club, or The Sklar Brothers at Speakeasy on Saturday night. What’s a comedy fan to do? Don’t fret; just check them out on another night! With the exception of the headliner shows at the Paramount Theater, many of the shows are set up in a showcase format and almost all of the artists are performing each night in different locations.

All Kinds of Participatory Options

While individual tickets can be purchased at venues like the Paramount Theater and Cap City Comedy Club, buying a badge allows full access to the event. Badge cost varies. A Fan Badge will get you full access, but there’s no guarantee you’ll get into headliner shows. A step up, the Ace Badge guarantees access to four headliner shows. At the top, the VIP Full Access Badge is guaranteed to get the badge holder into all headliner shows.

Chris Cubas returns to Austin for Moontower this year,

Chris Cubas, a veteran of Moontower Comedy Festival, will be back again this year (Photo credit: austinculturemap.com)

Badge holders also have other perks, like access to Moontower Lounge at the Stephen F. Austin Hotel, entrance to the wrap party, free parking downtown, and other good stuff, depending on which badge is purchased.

The Moontower Comedy Festival is guaranteed to be a good time. In its inaugural year, I had the privilege to see Matt Bearden do a rare ventriloquist act at the Mohawk Club. What will I see this year? Only time will tell, but I hope you join me for a crazy four-day adventure down a ridiculous comedy rabbit hole.

A full list of comedians, showtimes, and badge perks are available on Moontower’s website.

Individual tickets for headliner shows like Marc Maron, Maria Bamford, and Kids in the Hall can be purchased there as well.