The inaugural Athens Comedy Fest happening May 2–4 at the Morton Theatre is the culmination of the growth the local comedy scene has seen since the pandemic. Featuring 18 national acts with local support, the festival producers hope this event will shine a spotlight on Athens as a comedy town.
“I think the festival gives us an opportunity to really plant a flag and own our own scene as opposed to having some giant corporate conglomerate come through here and do a festival, and then none of the locals get on. Which does happen, unfortunately, in some places. So it’s really about the comedians having a stake in the community and the scene itself,” says Owen Hunt, one of the lead organizers and producers of the Athens Comedy Fest.
After events began returning during COVID, Hunt started Athens Comedy, which he promotes his own shows under, as an Instagram page to generate awareness in the community about the comedy shows happening and to bring the scene together. The goal was to highlight showcases and open mics hosted by different individuals under one page.
“I think before the pandemic, there were maybe four or five stand-ups in Athens, and now there’s probably 20 to 25,” says Hunt. “I just wanted to serve the muse of comedy. It’s like, how can I push comedy forward? Then I started producing some of my own events when gas went to $5 a gallon. I don’t want to drive to Atlanta, right? So we just started to do open mics and do different comedy events in as many different venues that would have us.”
The result has been a rich variety of comedy shows across Athens, including nights dedicated to queer comedians or all-female lineups. Hunt says that local venues have been really supportive and open to giving the comedy scene opportunities to grow at their establishments.
“That’s what’s great about Athens is we have such an open and receptive culture to art. There’s certainly room for it. I just knew sort of instinctively, there’s room enough in this town for people to support comedy,” says Hunt.
About a year and a half ago, Hunt shared a reel of a stand-up act by former Athenian Karen Morgan that went viral. While in town Morgan stopped by one of Hunt’s shows, and she mentioned to him that she’d love to produce a comedy festival in Athens but living so far away now, she needed boots on the ground. After another fortuitous conversation with a family friend in the entertainment industry, the idea was cemented that this was an opportunity for locals to create a comedy festival in Athens before anyone else seized the chance.
“We really wanted to connect directly with the community here. We’ve got all local sponsors, even the corporate ones are local. We’ll continue to establish ourselves as part of the community and help the community as we grow,” says Hunt.
The Athens Comedy Fest has partnered with AthFest Educates as the beneficiary of the festival’s proceeds. Last year one of the affiliated kickoff events of AthFest was Nateball’s Little Funny Bone comedy show, and Nateball will be returning to host another affiliated show this year. Although the Athens Comedy Fest operates independently of AthFest, opportunities like an AthFest showcase and other events throughout the year have established comedy career stepping stones within the community to legitimize the need for Athens’ own comedy festival.
The official Athens Comedy Fest kickoff event, Laughs & Libations, will take place at 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 1 at Creature Comforts Brewing Co. The lineup features 15 comedians from the Athens and Atlanta area who have performed in or contributed to the local scene. It’s a great sample platter of local comedy ahead of the heavy-hitters performing at the Morton Theatre May 2–4.
Special guest Joe Praino will close out the Friday night show, and Karen Morgan will headline on Saturday. The closing headliner for Sunday night is Pete Lee, whom you may recognize as having appeared on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” three times within the last year. The Los Angeles-based comedian has a big special in the works, and Hunt says it’s an honor to host Lee as he’s on his way up.
Weekend passes and individual show tickets are available online at athenscomedyfest.com.
WHAT: Athens Comedy Fest
WHEN: May 2–4, 7 p.m.
WHERE: Morton Theatre
HOW MUCH: $25–$500
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