The Annual South Beach Comedy Festival returns to Miami Beach from Tuesday, April 1st to Sunday, April 6th, for another fantastic comedy event featuring some of the world’s funniest entertainers. Now in its ninth year, the South Beach Comedy Festival continues to solidify its place as one of the premier comedy festivals for top comedic talent and fans across the country. This year’s event features W. Kamau Bell, Mike Epps, Chelsea Handler, Chris Hardwick, Joe Rogan and Nick Swardson with more great acts to be announced soon.
Comedy Central and Live Nation also welcome back sponsors Taco Bell and The Miami Beach Visitors and Convention Authority for their ninth consecutive year and its newest partner Bacardi as the exclusive spirits sponsor.
Once again the Festival will utilize multiple locations to highlight its exciting variety of talent. Acts will perform at the Fillmore Miami Beach at the Jackie Gleason Theatre, 1700 Washington Avenue; Colony Theater, 1040 Lincoln Road; and the unique Backstage at the Fillmore venue.
Currently the Festival welcomes back W. Kamau Bell on Thursday, April 3rd at 8 p.m. at the Backstage at the Fillmore. W. Kamau Bell is one of the fastest rising socio-political comics in the United States. A founding member of the stand-up comedy collective “Laughter Against the Machine,” Bell was praised by Punchline Magazine as “one of our nation’s most adept racial commentators with a blistering wit.” Bell has been voted San Francisco’s best comedian by the SF Weekly, the SF Bay Guardian, and 7×7 Magazine. The SF Weekly also called Bell “smart, stylish, and very much in the mold of politically outspoken comedians like Dave Chappelle,” though he was more excited that they called him “handsome.” Tickets are $15.00 in advance and $20.00 at the door.
Joe Rogan performs on Thursday, April 3rd at 8 p.m. at the Fillmore Miami Beach. A standup comedian for more than 20 years, Joe Rogan sells out theaters internationally with his inquisitive and intense comedic style. Rogan released his third hour-long special, Joe Rogan Live From The Tabernacle, exclusively through his website on December 18, 2012. Rogan is host of The Joe Rogan Experience, featuring long-form conversation with guests; it is one of the most popular comedy podcasts on iTunes. His Syfy TV series, Joe Rogan Questions Everything, premiered on July 24 with 1.3 million viewers as one of the highest rated Syfy reality series ever. Tickets are $45.00, $39.50 and $35.00.
Chelsea Handler brings her “Uganda Be Kidding Me Live” Tour for two shows Friday, April 4th, at 8 and 11 p.m. at the Fillmore Miami Beach. Chelsea Handler has created a multiplatform media empire as a bestselling author, talk show host, stand-up comedian, and an actress. This self-made media mogul is a cultural phenomenon, matched only by her comedic talents. As the host of E!’s “Chelsea Lately,” Handler has built this groundbreaking program into one of the highest rated shows on the network. Her acclaimed live performances play to sold out crowds everywhere. Tickets are $92.50, $79.50 and $59.50.
COMEDY CENTRAL’s late night host Chris Hardwick brings a performance of his popular “@ Midnight” live to the Colony Theatre for two shows Friday, April 4th, at 8 and 10 p.m. According to legend, Chris Hardwick was born on the starship Enterprise and is the product of two red-shirts that quickly met their demise in a transporter lovemaking mishap. Since then, Hardwick has become a professional stand-up comedian and a self-proclaimed nerd. He is a writer for Wired Magazine and is the face of AMC’s first live after-show “Talking Dead,” which airs as a platform to discuss the network’s highly-rated show “The Walking Dead.” Hardwick’s one-hour stand-up special “Chris Hardwick: Mandroid” is set to premiere on Comedy Central. With “@ Midnight,” he leads three contestants down the ultimate internet wormhole. Culling from the darkest recesses of social media, they compete to determine who has the funniest take on the day’s pop culture. Tickets are $35.00.
Nick Swardson takes the stage at the Fillmore on Saturday, April 5th, at 7:30 p.m. Comedian, actor and writer Nick Swardson may be known as “that guy from the Adam Sandler movies,” but he’s actually a successful performer on his own. He is the latest comedian to emerge as a triple threat: comedian, actor and writer/producer. Starting out in improv but switching to stand-up a few years later, Swardson made his mark delivering high energy, incredibly silly comedy that often focuses on partying and sex. Though he often plays flamboyant characters (such as the roller skating Terry in Reno 911), Swardson claims it’s just an act — supposedly. Tickets are $35.00.
Mike Epps performs late night Saturday, April 5th at 10 p.m. at the Fillmore Miami Beach. Mike Epps steadily climbed his way up the stand-up comedy ranks when he was recognized by a national audience in 1995 on the Def Comedy Jam tour and HBO’s Def Comedy Jam. During a performance at LA’s Comedy Store, Epps caught the attention of Ice Cube. This led to the first of three feature films they would do together. He has had two Showtime comedy specials, “Mike Epps: Underrated and Never Faded” and “Mike Epps Presents…” He has starred in over 30 feature films and won a NAACP Image Award for his role in the Sony Pictures film, “Jumping the Broom.” He was most recently seen in the film “Repentance” starring opposite Forest Whitaker and Anthony Mackie. Tickets are $55.75, $49.75 and $39.75.
On Wednesday, April 2nd, the Mad Cat Theatre is back for the fourth time to the South Beach Comedy Festival with “Gerald Ford Superfreak,” a new comedy from Miami’s leading purveyor of progressive, avant-garde theater. This is just one of the 77,038 stories about the most kick ass president no one voted for. This is a fundraiser for the Company and tickets are $60.00 (VIP) and $30.00 General Admission, available at the box office only.
Tickets are now on sale at www.southbeachcomedyfestival.com, www.livenation.com, the Fillmore Miami Beach Box Office, all TicketMaster outlets, or charge by phone at (800) 745-3000.
All dates, acts and ticket prices are subject to change without notice. All tickets are subject to applicable taxes, parking and service and handling charges.
For more information go to www.southbeachcomedyfestival.com or www.livenation.com, or go to SBCF Social Networking sites: facebook.com/southbeachcomedyfestival; flickr.com/photos/sbcfmiami; and twitter.com/sbcomedyfest.
