The 2023 Traverse City Comedy Fest announced five headliners Tuesday for its inaugural event, set to take place in downtown Traverse City February 2-4, 2023. The lineup will feature national performers including Maria Bamford, Tom Papa, ISMO, Dean Edwards, and Jackie Kashian. Tickets for the headlining events will go on sale Tuesday, November 1 at 9am at TCComedyFest.com.
Maria Bamford was the first female comic to have two half-hour Comedy Central Presents specials and starred alongside Patton Oswalt, Zach Galifianakis, and Brian Posehn in the Comedy Central series The Comedians of Comedy and Netflix’s Comedians of Comedy: The Movie. She also created and starred in the cult web series The Maria Bamford Show and the Netflix series Lady Dynamite. The 2014 winner of the American Comedy Award for Best Club Comic, Bamford is known for her prolific voiceover work on shows including Big Mouth, BoJack Horseman, Bob’s Burgers, Adventure Time, and PBS’s Emmy-winning series Word Girl. She played DeBrie Bardeaux on Netflix’s Arrested Development and had a
recurring role on the ABC hit series Fresh Off the Boat, in addition to three of her own hour-long stand-up specials.
With more than 20 years as a stand-up comedian, Tom Papa has starred in four hour-long stand-up specials, two of which were directed by Rob Zombie. He’s a regular guest on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast and hosts his own podcast series, Breaking Bread with Tom Papa. Papa hosts the daily Netflix radio show What A Joke With Papa And Fortune on SiriusXM’s Netflix Channel. He also hosts the hit SiriusXM show Come to Papa, with residencies at Largo in Los Angeles and The Village Underground in NYC. A contributing writer to New Yorker Magazine, Papa has released two books and has been a recurring performer on Live From Here (formerly A Prairie Home Companion) and NPR’s Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me! He appeared alongside Michael Douglas and Matt Damon in the HBO film Behind the Candelabra, hosted the NBC series The Marriage Ref, and had a recurring role opposite Julia Louis-Dreyfus on the CBS series The New Adventures of Old Christine. Papa also starred in his own NBC series, Come to Papa.
Called “the most insightful comic in Finland,” ISMO made his U.S. debut in 2014 at the Laugh Factory in Hollywood, where he won the title of “The Funniest Person in the World.” He has performed to sold-out crowds around the world, including the U.S., Canada, Australia, Mexico, and Europe. Known for his unique observational comedy that makes people see familiar things differently through his new-to-America perspective, ISMO was the first Finnish comedian to perform on CONAN, with his clip becoming one of the most-viewed late-night sets of all time at over 106 million views. He was chosen by Gabriel Iglesias to open for Iglesias’ special at Dodger Stadium in front of 60,000 fans, and wrote and starred in two seasons of his own sitcom, ISMO. He has filmed four specials and appeared on The Late Late Show with James Corden, NBC’s Bring the Funny, and NBC’s Last Call with Carson Daly.
Dean Edwards is an American actor, comedian, and writer best known for his two-year tenure as a cast member of Saturday Night Live. Known for his numerous celebrity impressions, Edwards recently appeared in his first comedy special, Netflix’s Tiffany Haddish Presents: THEY READY, Season 2. Edwards had supporting roles in Top Five and Spiderman 3 and has had guest appearances on The Sopranos and Deadbeat. Edwards helped workshop and create the character of Donkey for two years in the DreamWorks Broadway production of Shrek the Musical, leading him to be selected as Eddie Murphy’s vocal double as Donkey in other DreamWorks projects. He has voiced multiple roles on Showtime’s Our Cartoon President and appeared on the FOX series Let’s Be Real.
Jackie Kashian has been performing stand-up for over 35 years. Last seen on the Late Late Show with James Corden, her new special (and album of the same title) Stay-Kashian was #1 on Amazon and iTunes and debuted at #3 on Billboard’s Comedy Chart. Kashian has over 75 million listens on Spotify and Pandora. She has two podcasts, including The Dork Forest and The Jackie and Laurie Show with Laurie Kilmartin.
Maria Bamford will perform at the Traverse City Comedy Club on February 3 at 7pm and at the City Opera House on February 4 at 7pm. Tom Papa will perform at the City Opera House on February 2 at 7pm. ISMO will perform at the Traverse City Comedy Club on February 2 at 9pm, February 3 at 7pm (with Bamford), and February 4 at 7:30pm. Dean Edwards will perform at the City Opera House on February 2 at 9:30pm and at the Traverse City Comedy Club on February 3 at 9:30pm and February 4 at 10pm. Jackie Kashian will perform at the Traverse City Comedy Club on February 3 at 7pm (with Bamford and ISMO) and at the City Opera House on February 4 at 7pm (with Bamford).
Tickets for all headlining shows range from $35-$45 and go on sale Tuesday, November 1 at 9am at TCComedyFest.com. Additional performers and events will be announced in the coming weeks, according to the Downtown Traverse City Association.
