Laughing Out Loud: TC Comedy Fest Returns in April

New date, new venues, and a new lineup

By Anna Faller | March 22, 2025

The Traverse City Comedy Fest is preparing for its rambunctious return April 10-12, 2025. Now entering its third year, TCCF was launched in 2023 in part to tick the local arts box (especially with other high-traffic events like the Traverse City Film Festival now defunct), but also to stimulate local tourism in the off-season.

“Our goal for the festival, from the get-go, was to bring world-class talent to Traverse City and really make this the biggest and best [comedy] festival in the state of Michigan, if not the Midwest,” comedian and festival co-organizer Ann Duke says.

So far, the laugh track is just getting louder: For each of its first two years, the TCCF sold around 5,000 tickets—about a quarter of which represent attendees from larger urban hubs, like Chicago, Milwaukee, and Detroit—and packed venue after sold-out venue.

As producers prepare for this year’s festival, they’re setting that benchmark even higher, with an emphasis on audience growth to solidify the Traverse City’s place on the comedy map.

“We want to see people really embracing the experience,” Duke adds, a goal that called for some changes.

Setting the Stage

The first, and perhaps most drastic, change is the 2025 date.

In 2023 and 2024, TCCF took place in February, a time that had little else on the social calendar. This timing was important to the Downtown Traverse City Association (DTCA), the festival’s original host, but a recent shift in ownership has made a February festival less of a mandate.

As of 2025, Michigan comedy producer SamRose Entertainment has assumed the role of festival presenter with several local organizations as sponsors. Lessening the blow of nasty winter weather was another incentive to move the festival out of deep winter, as Duke underscores “one good blizzard” might have had the potential to upset the entire production.

Consequently, this year’s comedy fest is scheduled for April, which producers hope will increase traffic and reduce the travel burden for comics and crowds.

“I think it’ll allow a lot more people to come from outside markets because they’ll feel a little more confident,” Duke adds.

Also in the works this year is an expanded array of festival venues, which organizers have curated to cater to both performers and attendees. “We’re looking to make [the event] meaningful for more people than just those that are part of the ‘company,’” Duke explains.

Along with Hotel Indigo as the festival’s official hotel partner, the program includes a few key locations, like the City Opera House, which serves as a marquee spot for headliners, and the Traverse City Comedy Club, whose owner, Stuart Lazar, recently joined the event’s team as a producer.

Other confirmed performance venues include Old Town Playhouse, which signed on in year two, as well as The Alluvion for improv nights and live podcasting. You can also catch shows at Encore 201, where most of the showdown programs are held (think: the Rose Battle or the Daily Dozen), and The Workshop Brewing Company, which hosts the karaoke and open-mic nights.

New this year is the ballroom at the Park Place Hotel, which is earmarked as a second lead stage.

The Headliners

Then there’s the curated roster of headliners, which returning performer and acclaimed standup pro Carole Montgomery says, “doesn’t have a dud in the bunch.”

“They’re all great comics, and they’ve all done the work to be really strong and professional on stage,” she says.

Of these, Marc Maron is a standout. A veteran of the national circuit—he’s been at the stand-up game since the ’80s and has mastered a delivery Duke describes as “clever and thoughtful” with a cerebral edge—Maron’s also a well-known actor and is the brains behind the award-winning podcast, WTF with Marc Maron, a talk-style show, which has featured dozens of high-profile guests, from Barack Obama to Robin Williams.

“He’s the kind of comic where you’re sitting on the edge of your seat because you can’t wait to hear what he’s going to say next,” Duke tells us.

Comedy legend Jay Pharoah is another must-see, whose giggle box of a resume includes six seasons on Saturday Night Live—headlined by recurring character principal Daniel Frye and an arsenal of killer impressions—as well as a host of film and TV credits, including 2020 comedy Two Minutes of Fame and voiceover work for such adult animations as BoJack Horseman and Family Guy. For any kids in the audience, he’s also the mastermind behind the wacky Nickelodeon gameshow Unfiltered!

For those seeking a little witty wisdom (and the over-50 crowd), female comedy group Funny Women of a Certain Age is the comedic salve. The brainchild of Montgomery, the show premiered as a special to Showtime in 2019 and has since sparked a pair of follow-up shows and a live tour with a rotating cast, all with the aim of creating space for female comics to be seen and heard.

“It’s a celebration of women,” Montgomery says. “I always joke that [middle-aged] women should rebrand as international spies because no one sees us. So, what you’re going to see here is three vibrant women doing brilliant comedy.” Alongside Montgomery, the show’s cast features funny femmes, Leighann Lord and Julia Scotti, both of whom frequent the national stage.

Rounding out this season’s headliners are Natasha Leggero, whose highly-anticipated sets are known for her celebrity roasts and take-no-prisoners edge—“she’s such a great complement to the rest of the program,” notes Duke—and festival opener Josh Blue, a comic with cerebral palsy whose credits include a notorious win on NBC’s Last Comic Standing (2006), The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and more than 200 shows per year.

The Roster

Peppered in amongst the headliners are 50 top-notch performers, whose regional, or sometimes national, status make up the festival’s comedic roster. Among these are organizers Duke—who describes her sets as “your mom’s sexy, sassy best friend”—and Mike Geeter, as well as several Michigan troupes (three of which are based in Traverse City!) and comics from throughout the Midwest and beyond.

One of these is Cam Rowe. Originally from metro-Detroit, this giant funny-man—he stands at a staggering six-foot-nine, literally making him “the next big thing in comedy,” per his bio—entered the standup stage in 2013. Since then, he’s performed with the comedic heavyweights like Aziz Ansari on IFC’s Comedy Bang! Bang! series and Jimmy O. Yang (of Crazy Rich Asians fame). He’s also a three-time returner to the Traverse City Comedy Fest, which he confidently calls the “best in the country.”

“At a lot of festivals, you just feel like a number, but you definitely feel appreciated at this [event],” he says.

Much of that comes down to the festival’s framework, which stresses celebrating and taking care of its comics (lodging is provided, for instance, and roster comedians receive a stipend). Rowe also highlights the warm and inclusive vibes of the TC Comedy Fest as not only unique to the standup industry, but as a critical factor in securing and retaining great talent.

“It’s like a big party with me and 50 of my best friends,” he says with a laugh. “It’s just a good vibe to come together and connect with everyone for the weekend.”

Rowe points to several Michigan-based comics—notably Geeter, Ricarlo Winston, Robert Jenkins, Kevin Johnson, and Tam White (who, along with Rowe, also comprise improv group Jokes on You)—as high on his list of can’t-miss acts.

Duke also highlights the collaborative shows, as some of the most routinely popular with the festival’s attendees, like the Out-of-Towners Comedy Showcase; The Nightcap (that’s an adults-only program); and the Comedy Rumble, a quick-draw competition.

“There’s still a small-town feel about it,” Duke concludes. “You can be in the theater and feel like you are the most important part of the festival at that moment.”

The 2025 Traverse City Comedy Festival will take place from April 10-12. For more information, venue specifics, or to purchase tickets or entry packages, visit traversecitycomedyfest.com.