Comedy Festival lineup complete

Bargatze joins previously announced headliners: acclaimed comedians Nicole Byer on Thursday, Aug. 1, and “Roastmaster General” Jeff Ross on Friday, Aug 2, both performing at Jamestown’s Reg Lenna Center for the Arts.

More than 50 live events will be presented over four days in a festival that celebrates comedy’s contemporary stars and rising talent from across the country, while celebrating comedy’s heritage.

Bargatze has been selling out shows and breaking attendance records around the world with his current “The Be Funny” tour. Last fall, he made his hosting debut on Saturday Night Live, receiving rave reviews and drawing one of highest television audiences of the season, with Vanity Fair calling him, “A Great Saturday Night Live Host,” and Entertainment Weekly exclaiming, “A frighteningly funny Halloween episode.”

His most recent comedy special, Nate Bargatze: Hello World, holds the record as Amazon’s most-watched comedy special of all time on Prime Video. He is widely known for his clean, relatable comedy for audiences of all ages, evident in his 13 appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the most appearances by any comedian. He also appeared on Conan four times and has appeared on Seth Meyers’ and James Corden’s respective late night shows.

Nate Bargatze will be the final headline performer at the 2024 Lucille Ball Comedy Festival on Aug. 3.

“I’ve had the pleasure of visiting the National Comedy Center and it’s just awesome. The interactivity of all the exhibits is amazing – there is nothing else like it. So, it’s a thrill for me to perform at the National Comedy Center’s Lucille Ball Comedy Festival this August. I hope everyone will come out to see us in Jamestown – and visit the Comedy Center before our show,” Bargatze said.

Hailed as “The Nicest Man in Stand-up” by The Atlantic magazine and a “Rising Star” by CBS Mornings, Bargatze was nominated for a Grammy® for Best Comedy Album for his 2021 Netflix special “The Greatest Average American, which follows his previous acclaimed Netflix specials The Tennessee Kid and The Standups. His Saturday Night Live sketch “Washington’s Dream” went viral and was hailed as an instant classic and one of the funniest SNL sketches of all time.

“Nate Bargatze has become a favorite of comedy fans across the country and one of the highest-grossing comedians of the year, selling out arenas nationwide,” said Journey Gunderson, National Comedy Center executive director. “We were thrilled to have Nate visit the National Comedy Center last fall and look forward to bringing him back to Jamestown for a special headlining performance this August. He’s become a great friend and supporter of our mission.”

Bargatze was featured as one of Esquire’s “Best New Comedians” by Jim Gaffigan, one of Marc Maron’s “Comedians to Watch” in Rolling Stone, one of Variety’s “10 Comics to Watch” for 2015, and as #1 on Vulture’s ’50 Comedians You Should Know’ in 2015. He also appeared on the cover of Variety’s annual comedy issue in 2022. He recently launched The Nateland Company, which develops and produces family-friendly content including comedy showcases, specials and podcasts including his own popular The Nateland Podcast, which featured Bargatze’s tour of the National Comedy Center.

Tickets for the Nate Bargatze show will go on pre-sale for National Comedy Center members on Tuesday at noon through Wednesday at 11:59 pm. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Thursday, June 27, at noon at ComedyCenter.org.

“Roastmaster General” Jeff Ross, who brings his solo show “Take a Banana For the Ride” on 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.

“With Nate Bargatze, Nicole Byer and Jeff Ross, we truly have a stellar headliner lineup this summer,” stated Malachi Livermore, National Comedy Center vice president of programming and guest experience. “Together with many of the best stand-ups from across the country, Lucy celebration events, bigger block parties with live music and more, the 2024 festival will celebrate the best of comedy’s past and present over four days.”

Six Comedy Late Night shows will be held from Aug. 1-3, featuring more than 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.

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.