17 May “Roastmaster General” Jeff Ross, Nicole Byer Headline First Two Nights of National Comedy Center’s Lucille Ball Comedy Festival Aug 1-4
“Roastmaster General” Jeff Ross, Nicole Byer Headline First Two Nights of National Comedy Center’s Lucille Ball Comedy Festival Aug 1-4
Third Headliner Confirmed for Aug 3 at Northwest Arena, to be announced mid-June
Jamestown, New York – May 17, 2024 – The National Comedy Center, the nation’s official museum and cultural institution dedicated to comedy, announced today that acclaimed comedians Jeff Ross and Nicole Byer will headline the first two nights of the 2024 Lucille Ball Comedy Festival, August 1 through 4. A third headliner that is confirmed for Aug 3 at the Northwest Arena will be announced mid-June.
“Roastmaster General” Jeff Ross, who brings his solo show Aug 2, was the creative force, co-host and producer of the recent blockbuster Netflix “Roast of Tom Brady”, and in addition to his numerous high profile roast credits, is among the most respected stand-up comedians touring today.
Nicole Byer, performing Aug 1, has become widely known as the host of Nailed It!, the Netflix Emmy-nominated reality-competition baking series, and is one of the most distinctive voices in stand-up comedy today.
A third headliner that is confirmed to perform at Northwest Arena in Jamestown on Sat, Aug 3 will be announced in mid-June, and is one of the highest grossing stand-up comedians in 2024.
“Jeff Ross has been a genre-defining artist for decades, both continuing and revolutionizing the art of insult comedy. Beyond the roasts, he’s just a fantastic stand-up comedian, an incredible writer, and a genuine champion of the art form’s past and present, which I love about him,” said Journey Gunderson, National Comedy Center Executive Director.
Visits to the National Comedy Center’s “Art of the Roast” exhibit, featuring the history of insult comedy from the Dean Martin and Friars’ Club Roasts, through Comedy Central Roasts, Roast Battle, and highlighting artists from Don Rickles to Jeff Ross, can also be reserved with museum admission before live shows during the festival.
“Nicole Byer is a fearless performer with a candid, razor sharp take that brings the audience along for a fun ride. I’m thrilled to have her in this lineup and welcome her to Jamestown, where fans from across the country celebrate this craft with our award-winning comedy museum visitor experience by day, and the best live comedy shows by night.”
Tickets for the Jeff Ross and Nicole Byer shows, along with other festival events will go on pre-sale for National Comedy Center Members Thurs, May 30 at noon ET through Wed, June 5. Tickets go on sale to the general public Thurs, June 6 at noon ET, at ComedyCenter.org.
Late Night comedy shows, Lucy legacy events and more will also go on sale at that time in a festival that celebrates comedy’s contemporary stars and rising talent from across the country, while celebrating comedy’s great heritage.
Jeff Ross (AKA The “Roastmaster General”) performs Fri, Aug 2 and most recently created, executive produced and co-hosted the blockbuster “The Greatest Roast of All Time: Tom Brady” – an all-star, live Netflix special which took the art of the roast to new heights as one of the most watched comedy specials in years. Ross, called a one-man verbal assault unit, has been a staple on the Comedy Central Roasts, and the series Roast Battle on Comedy Central, anchoring roasts of many of the industry’s most famous artists. Ross will perform his new solo show, “Take a Banana For the Ride,” in Jamestown, a journey through his life of laugher and lost. This intimate and revealing semi-autobiographical show touches on some of the most poignant moments in the comedian’s career to chronicle how he became The Roastmaster, as he celebrates the lives of his grandfather, his best friends and his dog.
Ross has also used comedy specials to turn roasting into social commentary. With Jeff Ross Roasts Criminal, Jeff Ross Roasts Cops and Jeff Ross Roasts the Border, Jeff has shed light on some of the more polarizing political issues of our time. These specials have taken him to a maximum security prison, the Boston Police Department, and both sides of the Mexican border.
Nicole Byer will perform Thurs, Aug 1 and is one of the most versatile and recognizable voices in the comedy landscape today, acclaimed for her Netflix specials Big Beautiful Weirdo and Comedians of the World and as the host of Netflix’s Emmy-nominated reality-competition baking series Nailed It! Byer starred in NBC’s Grand Crew and was a fan favorite on MTV’s hit series Girl Code. Her past work includes the Above Average web series Pursuit of Sexiness, which she co-created and starred in alongside Sasheer Zamata, and the scripted comedy series Loosely Exactly Nicole. Her network television and feature work includes Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, Lady Dynamite, Party Over Here, BoJack Horseman and 30 Rock. She regularly hosts the popular podcasts, Why Won’t You Date Me, and What the Tuck?
Both Byer’s performance on Thursday, August 1st and Ross’s performance on Friday, August 2nd will be held in Jamestown’s Reg Lenna Center for the Arts.
Six Comedy Late Night shows will take Thurs Aug 1 – Sat Aug 3, featuring over 20 of the most popular artists currently performing in comedy clubs nationwide – with television appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Late Night with Seth Meyers, The Daily Show, Last Comic Standing, Netflix comedy specials, America’s Got Talent, and more.
“Our festival will honor the best of comedy’s past and present over four days from the nation’s best stand-ups, to three nights of bigger block parties with live music, Lucy celebration events featuring fan-favorites: Ball’s personal secretary Wanda Clark, and Diane Vincent, who has appeared as Lucy at Universal Studios Hollywood and the Lucille Ball Comedy Festival since 1999, in her final Jamestown festival appearance as we reunite the I Love Lucy “Fab Four” including Ethel, Ricky and Fred – and over 50 live events,” stated Malachi Livermore, the National Comedy Center’s VP of Programming & Guest Experiences.
To become a National Comedy Center Member in order to gain first access to available seats during the pre-sale ticket window, visit ComedyCenter.org/membership or call the National Comedy Center at 716.484.2222. Memberships start at $75 and provide year-round benefits including a “season pass” for visiting the award-winning National Comedy Center in Jamestown, New York.
The acclaimed National Comedy Center and Lucy Desi Museum are both welcoming visitors throughout the festival with over 50 interactive experiences providing laughter for all ages – the experience named one of TIME’s “World’s Greatest Places”, USA Today’s “Best New Museum”, and U.S. News & World Report’s “Top 25 Family Weekend Getaways.” Advanced purchase of museum admission is recommended to avoid sellout. Admission tickets may be purchased while purchasing festival event tickets.
The Lucille Ball Comedy Festival is presented by the National Comedy Center and embodies Lucille Ball’s vision for her hometown, Jamestown, New York, to be a destination for the celebration of the comedic arts and to showcase new comedic talent from around the country. The festival attracts over 15,000 attendees annually from nearly every state in the country, who come together to share laughter while honoring the craft and contributors on stage at dozens of venues throughout Jamestown, including the National Comedy Center and the Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Museum.
Now in its 34th year, the festival has featured comedy’s greatest stars and rising young comedians and has welcomed over 300 artists to Jamestown, NY, including Jerry Seinfeld, Lily Tomlin, John Mulaney, Trevor Noah, Jeff Foxworthy, Jay Leno, Sebastian Maniscalco, Amy Schumer, David Spade, Margaret Cho, Brian Regan, Ellen DeGeneres, Lewis Black, W. Kamau Bell, Jim Gaffigan, Kevin Nealon, Paula Poundstone, Dan Aykroyd, Joan Rivers, Bob Newhart, the Smothers Brothers. and more than one hundred other comedic artists. Last year’s festival featured comedians Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias and Taylor Tomlinson.
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About the National Comedy Center
The National Comedy Center is the United States’ official cultural institution and museum dedicated to presenting the vital story of comedy and preserving its heritage for future generations, as formally designated by the U.S. Congress. Opened in 2018 in Jamestown, New York, the museum complex offers an unprecedented, immersive visitor experience using state-of-the-art technology, interactivity, and personalization.
USA Today named the National Comedy Center the “Best New Museum in the Country, TIME magazine named it one of its “World’s Greatest Places,” and U.S. News & World Report selected it as one of the “25 Top Family Weekend Getaways in the U.S.,” while Condé Nast Traveler called the National Comedy Center “one of the best museums in the country,” and People magazine named it one of “100 Reasons to Love America.”
The National Comedy Center has been featured in The New York Times, on CBS Saturday Morning, CBS Sunday Morning and on NBC’s TODAY Show, which called it “the Smithsonian of Comedy.” Visitors from all 50 states and eighteen countries have given the Center a rare 5/5 rating on TripAdvisor, ranking among the highest in the attraction and tourism industry.
Based on the vision of Jamestown native Lucille Ball for her hometown to become a destination for comedy, the non-profit National Comedy Center’s mission is to provide education on the comedic arts in the form of commentary and contextualization of its bodies of work across all eras and genres of the art form.
The National Comedy Center has collaborated with dozens of artists and estates to preserve materials that represent comedy’s significant artistic, social, and political contributions to American culture including collections illustrating the careers of legendary artists like George Carlin, Johnny Carson, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, Carl Reiner, Joan Rivers, Don Rickles, Lenny Bruce, The Smothers Brothers, and the development of groundbreaking creative work such as sketch comedy series In Living Color, Saturday Night Live, and more.
The National Comedy Center operates the Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Museum, which explores the lives, careers, and legacy of the “First Couple of Comedy” and the incredible impact they had on the world, as well as the pioneering role and remarkable influence that I Love Lucy and Desilu Studios had on the entertainment industry for generations to come.
The National Comedy Center is a 501(c)(3) non-profit cultural institution whose mission is funded by philanthropic support. Donations and grants support the museum and its work to present the vital story of comedy and preserve its heritage for future generations.
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