With more than 50 live events over four days, the Lucille Ball Comedy Festival returns to Jamestown, NY from August 7–10, bringing together comedy legends, emerging talent, and fans from across the country for one of the nation’s most anticipated celebrations of comedy.
Tickets are still available for many of this year’s marquee events, including the Stand-Up Live! evening show, a behind-the-scenes conversation with SNL head writer Streeter Seidell, and a stand-up comedy showcase followed by a live performance by Bill Murray and His Blood Brothers. Saturday night features a stand-up performance by Jon Stewart, which is now sold out.
the Stand-Up Live! evening show, a behind-the-scenes conversation with SNL
head writer Streeter Seidell (above, left), and a stand-up comedy showcase
followed by a live performance by Bill Murray and His Blood Brothers (right).
Comedy Late Night at the Tropicana Club returns on August 7, 8, and 9, with two performances each night in the intimate nightclub setting modeled after Ricky Ricardo’s iconic venue from I Love Lucy. These after-hours shows feature bold, uncensored stand-up from some of the most exciting names in comedy today — offering a spontaneous, anything-goes experience that has become a festival favorite.
On Saturday, August 9 at 3pm, the National Comedy Center will host a special ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new Joan Rivers exhibit, with Melissa Rivers cutting the ribbon in honor of her mother’s extraordinary legacy. The exhibit showcases Joan Rivers’ legendary joke file — a meticulously organized collection of over 67,000 jokes written on index cards and stored in a custom filing cabinet. This unprecedented archive offers a rare look into Rivers’ creative process, trailblazing career, and fearless comedic voice — now preserved and on view for the public for the first time.
Headlining Events Include:
STAND-UP LIVE! – Friday, August 8 at 7pm, Reg Lenna
Center for the Arts
The weekend kicks off Friday with Stand-Up Live! at the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts — a high-energy showcase of the freshest comedic voices breaking out across the country. Programmed by the National Comedy Center, the lineup reflects the next generation of stand-up and has become a fan favorite for discovering future stars.
STAND-UP SHOWCASE FEATURING BILL MURRAY AND HIS BLOOD BROTHERS – Sunday August 10 at 5pm, Northwest Arena
Sunday night at the Northwest Arena begins with a stand-up comedy showcase featuring nationally touring comics — setting the stage for a one-of-a-kind live performance by Bill Murray and His Blood Brothers.
Beloved for iconic roles in Ghostbusters, Groundhog Day, and Caddyshack, Bill Murray now brings his magic to the stage in a musical collaboration with The Blood Brothers — blues guitar powerhouses Mike Zito and Albert Castiglia, with Jimmy Vivino (formerly of Late Night with Conan O’Brien) joining as special guest.
Part concert, part comedy, and wholly unpredictable, the performance showcases Murray’s storytelling, charm, and mischief — backed by electrifying blues rock.
STREETER SEIDELL: INSIDE SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE – Sunday, August 10 at 2pm, Reg Lenna
Center for the Arts
Earlier that day, SNL head writer Streeter Seidell invites audiences behind the curtain of live television comedy. Seidell has helped craft some of the show’s most memorable sketches of the past decade, including the viral “Washington’s Dream” — now featured in the Comedy Center’s ex-panded SNL exhibit.
“It’s an incredible honor to be invited to the National Comedy Center to talk about the craft of comedy. And an even greater honor to have some of our work preserved in the Center’s archive alongside that of our heroes,” said Seidell. “That honestly seems like a mistake on the Center’s part, but we’re going to roll with it until they realize their error.”
A WEEKEND OF LAUGHTER AND LEGACY
Beyond the headliners, the festival features Late Night Comedy in the Tropicana Room, live mu-sic, block parties, I Love Lucy legacy events, and special experiences inside the National Comedy Center — named one of the World’s Greatest Places by TIME magazine and the Best New Museum in the Country by USA Today.
Tickets and the full schedule are available at ComedyCenter.org/festival.