Stand-up comedy witnessed a boom in the ‘80s, a collapse in the ‘90s and a resurgence with an alternative movement in the aughts.
This was true in major markets and in large population centers, at least; Knoxville has always been reluctant to embrace national trends, and modern residents of the city have been characteristically slow in adopting an appreciation for performance art, even in peak times of high national regard.
“The overall struggle here is getting Knoxville to accept that comedy happens locally,” says Matt Ward, founder of Knox Comedy Live, a collective of comedians and producers who perform and stage different kinds of shows at various locations throughout the city. “Comedy has never really been a viable option here….”
This localized apathy with regard to comedy is something Ward and his colleagues have been trying to eradicate in the nearly five years since Knox Comedy’s inception, and they are hoping that next month’s inaugural Scruffy City Comedy Festival will go a long way in rendering such indifference obsolete. Taking place Nov. 6-8 at five downtown venues (Scruffy City Hall, the Pilot Light, Latitude 35, the Jack Cellar and Star of Knoxville Riverboat), the event will feature more than 50 performances by some of the best local, regional and national talent working the circuit. Produced by Ward’s own Super Cat imprint, it also will showcase several different comedic styles, from traditional stand-up and improv to roasts and podcasts. It is an ambitious undertaking, but one at which Ward and many others have worked long and hard to see come to fruition.
Ward’s initial contribution to the Knoxville comedy scene occurred in January 2010 with an upstairs show at the now-defunct Patrick Sullivan’s in the Old City. Subsequent shows in the space featured a range of local talent, several of which included improv troupe Einstein Simplified. After Sullivan’s unfortunate demise, Ward contacted Preservation Pub’s Bernadette West, who offered Ward a trial run of showcase performances on the establishment’s then newly constructed second-floor stage.
The burgeoning popularity of these biweekly shows, however, soon led to West and Ward changing the format in May 2011 and establishing a free weekly open-mic night on the same stage. Though Knox Comedy has since expanded its reach to include open-mic nights at other locations (Carleo’s in the Old City, Junction 33 in Rocky Hill and Sassy Ann’s in Fourth & Gill), the Upstairs Underground show in the Pub’s speakeasy has remained a regular fixture and will celebrate its 200th week in February 2015.
Ward is quick to laud the West family for their support of Knoxville comedy – as well as for their role in revitalizing and growing the city’s downtown – but he also credits several others for their enthusiastic involvement in the scene. One of these individuals is Jason Boardman, proprietor of the Pilot Light, whose passion for comedy, Ward says, rivals his own.
Acknowledging Boardman’s comedic acumen and crediting him for bringing comedy shows to town for longer and on a more regular basis than anyone save for maybe AC Entertainment’s Ashley Capps, Ward marvels at a 2012 bill Boardman hosted: “You’ve got Todd Barry! You’ve got Brendon Walsh! And you’ve got Neil Hamburger! In a 60-seat bar! For, like, 15 bucks?! That’s ridiculous!”
Of course, it’s the comics who truly cultivate a scene, and Ward showers no shortage of praise on all of those who have contributed to strengthening Knoxville’s. Deflecting attention from himself, he accepts credit neither for the notoriety Knox Comedy has gained nor for the directions it has taken since its formulation, emphasizing the communal aspect of the group and admitting only to encouraging his fellow comedians to explore the boundaries of their art.
“Everything about what we have done has started with the buy-in of local comics, local artists related to the comedy community,” Ward says. “Eventually, it started to become other people putting ideas in and picking up the ball to produce a show or to help back something. Now it’s the way it should be.”
Ward may choose to remain humble about the grassroots success of Knox Comedy, but he is extremely personally invested in his brainchild, the festival, which he has been planning for 18 months. Some details have yet to be ironed out, but many specifics are in place. The proceedings will kick off Thursday night at Scruffy City Hall with the final round of the Rocky Top Comedy Contest. After a winner is crowned, the venue will open its doors to the public for a free showcase of stand-up sets delivered by some of the weekend’s performers.
From 11 a.m.-4 p.m. on Friday, the backroom of Remedy Coffee in the Old City will host live recordings of podcasts by performers. These will be free to the public with donations accepted. From 10 p.m.-12:30a.m., Star of Knoxville will set sail on a comedy cruise along the Tennessee River. And each night of the festival will wrap up at the Pilot Light with a unique twist on a celebrity roast.
Early-bird tickets – in the form of rubber wristbands and available for pickup at Latitude 35 the weekend of the festival – were $10 at press time but will be set at $15 at an as-yet-undetermined date closer to the weekend. Individual tickets will be sold at a lesser price point at each participating venue for those who cannot attend the entire festival. Ward, in a rare show of generosity from a promoter, encourages attendees to give away their wristbands to friends in the event they are done with them. Moreover, anyone who keeps one from this year will receive half-priced admission to next year’s festival. These perks are in keeping with Knox Comedy’s theme of “Laugh Local.”
“We go to the Farmers’ Market, we buy stuff there. We bicycle through downtown. We live here,” Ward says. “We want to be a part of all of that; we ARE a part of all of that.”
Although he shares his apprehensions about being able to appeal to Knoxville as a whole, Ward remains positive about the potential growth of his medium locally. “Comedy is always going to have its very specific niche of people, but they’re always there. You just have to figure out how to get to them. And with us, it’s just a matter of time.”
