Monday, June 1
9th Annual Christian Comics Association Conference
8pm OPEN MIC (Lonnie’s on West End)

Tuesday, June 2
9th Annual Christian Comics Association Conference
8am – 9am Get Up, Stand Up (91.1 WRVU-FM)
6pm Hope Lodge Night of Laughs (American Cancer Center Hope House)
8pm OPEN MIC Contest (Spanky’s Sportsbar & Grill)

Wednesday, June 3
7:30pm Janet Williams, Lahna Turner, Dan Whitehurst (Zanies)
9pm “Dive Laughing” OPEN MIC (Springwater)

Thursday, June 4
7:30pm Janet Williams, Lahna Turner, Dan Whitehurst (Zanies)

Friday, June 5
7:30pm, 9:45pm Joe Rogan (Zanies)

Saturday, June 6
7pm, 9pm Joe Rogan (Zanies)

Sunday, June 7
7:30pm TC Cope’s Birthday Bash with Prescott & Chris Thomas (Zanies)
8pm OPEN MIC (Music Row Bar & Grill)

More details can be found in the NashvilleStandUp show calendar in the sidebar.

Anna Matsen — a word nerd, political junkie, amateur philosopher, sushi-lover, and Nashvillian — attends as many comedy gigs as she can afford. As a grad student of English at Belmont Unversity and an English tutor at The Learning Lab, she works daily to improve her writing skills, hoping to one day write something worth a book jacket. Anna attended Jeffrey Ross‘ second show on April 25th at Zanies and sends in this review:

I was recently able to attend a Zanies gig involving Chad Riden, Lahna Turner, and Jeffrey Ross. Chad opened with a mix of his usual material (such as his accused “badass” driving skills and a drunken “Free Bird” evangelist impersonation) and improvised audience interaction about birthdays and the recent Nashville marathon. All in all, a good set.

The second opener, as mentioned above, was Lahna Turner, a comic I was seeing for the first time. Her humor was a mix of singing and spoken word, surprise and shock, and the crowd ate it up. She joked about sex, sexual racial stereotypes, and her obese husband (whom she neglected to mention is fellow-comedian Ralphie May). Her current pregnancy provided plenty of material, and was dealt with in such punctuated explicitness that men and women alike were doubled-over in laughter. She worked unusually well with the audience when they didn’t respond as vocally as she had hoped. From where I sat it was obvious the crowd loved her act, but occasionally she threw in a gibe about how she’d give us a moment to recognize her brilliant humor. There are comics I’ve seen give a similar reaction, seemingly out of self-consciousness or insecurity, and it dampens the humor that actually exists in the crowd; but her obvious (and well-justified) confidence in her comedy won her louder and louder peals of laughter every time. Two of her fun musical numbers were the “Long Schlong” song and “Kegel” (a memorable five-second, silent sing-along. … ;`D)

Jeffery Ross, that night’s headliner, is best known as a “roast master”; after seeing his act live, I must conclude that he is probably the friendliest roaster around — which is why his act works. Oh, he dishes out the witty taunts, but in a way that invites people to laugh at themselves, because his ridicule isn’t the least mean-spirited. His all-in-friendly-fun demeanor is likely why, over the course of the show, he shared the stage with eight other people — all of whom took their gibes in stride. It strikes me as a healthy compulsion when people voluntarily place themselves in the butt of a joke. It’s a sign that we can, on occasion, give up a few hangups (mainly, the hangup of taking ourselves too seriously).

The first to be invited up was a woman in a shiny, silver, so-so-short dress. She was teased/complimented for having a bouncy-when-she-laughed chest. He then suggested an audience roast. Two girls and three guys walked on stage eager to be teased. Probably the best zinger of the “roast” was his dubbing of a white boy in a white t-shirt with a chain necklace a few extra pounds “K-overfed.” An odd-faced fellow sitting alone at the corner of the stage was ridiculed at the beginning of the show and later brought up to play piano for several of Ross’s “poems.” (Is it just me, or is there always some awkward loner near the stage at Zanies shows? Maybe it’s even the same guy and I haven’t paid careful enough attention. … But I digress.) Although an obviously genuine audience member and not a plant, his comic timing playing the piano while Jeffrey Ross recited “love poetry” worked perfectly. The last person to share the stage was the first half of Evan and Jaron. To be honest, I was never a fan of their hit “Crazy For This Girl” (too much sap in that pop ballad for my taste), but it was still fun seeing Evan on stage. He plays piano well, sings well (duh), and good-naturedly took his share of teasing like everyone else.

Finally, Ross didn’t restrict himself to the audience when it came to poking fun; he also threw in a bit of self-effacing humor (particularly about being a New Jersey native). And his poem in honor of his cat was simply fun. It was a great night laughing both at and with a talented stand up act.

Visit Anna Matsen on Facebook.

Wednesday, May 13th at 7:30pm Lahna Turner hosts a night of funny people who have music in their comedy acts, including Wynn Reichert, Mark Anundson, Judy Klass, Zack Lyle, Donnie Winters, Brianne Angarole and more!. Tickets are just $10, so buy them in advance before they sell out.

Zanies
2025 8th Avenue South
Nashville, TN
615-269-0221
www.zaniesnash.com

Today The Tennessean‘s Dave Paulson wrote about Friday’s sold out Flight Of The Conchords show at The Ryman, mentioning Spinal Tap, The Doyle and Debbie Show, Doug Stanhope & The Mattoid (who are at the Exit/In Friday night) and a few Nashville-based funny musicians as well. Read the whole article over at The Tennessean.

It’s an okay write-up, but only okay. Dave could have looked deeper than Nashville’s “funny musicians” to find his local angle. For example..

Lahna Turner is a very funny lady who now calls both Nashville and Los Angeles home. She is a fantastic stand-up comic with a sick sense of humor and a knack for writing killer funny songs. She has appeared on NBC, Comedy Central and VH1 and has toured the world.

Occasionally, Lahna produces “The Music City Comedy Show” at Zanies Comedy Showplace – a night of funny people who have music in their comedy acts. In the past, the lineups have included Rik Roberts, Steve Goodie, Wynn Reichert, Sean Parrott, Bucky Habanero, and Shantel Adams.

Rik Roberts is a Nashville-based comic who performs hilarious “super-clean” comedy delivered with a little Southern flavor. His act is largely rapid-fire, family friendly stand-up comedy plus some original comedy songs and a little bit of improvisation. Rik has performed at clubs and colleges across the nation, works many corporate events, and also teaches stand-up comedy classes. Rik regularly hosts showcases of his graduating students and headlines at Zanies.

Dr. Demento has called Nashville’s Steve Goodie, “One of our most talented 21st-century parodists.” Steve has also appeared on many other radio programs around the nation, including The Howard Stern Show, and The Bob And Tom Show. Every Sunday at 8pm, Steve hosts the show at The Bluebird Cafe, emceeing this renowned evening of songs, keeping it moving along with his nutty witticisms.. and he performs his hilarious songs around Nashville and on the road regularly.

Wynn Reichert uses a tongue-in-cheek delivery to belt out tunes like, “I Need To Get Laid,” and audience favorite, “Sometimes I Wish I was Black.” Wynn is originally from California, lives in Nashville and tours internationally.

Sean Parrott has been bringing his charismatic stage presence and a unique point of view to comedy clubs and bars all over the Southeast since 2006. Brought up on Bugs Bunny and Monty Python, Sean is an observational absurdist with a keen eye for finding the humor in everyday life. He was recently a Finalist in the Reader’s Digest Nashville’s Funniest Comic Competition and did voice over work for an animated film, “Back to Life, ” that was featured on the Independent Film Chanel. Sean is also half of musical comedy duo, “The Dead Dead” which has been featured on the hilarious “Mangy Dog Whoop Dee Doo” (visit The Dead Dead online at MySpace & FunnyOrDie). Sean performs regularly at Zanies, is actively involved in the DIY comedy shows around town, and will be featured at the upcoming Mangy Dog LIVE show April 18th at 10pm at the Improv Nashville Comedy Theater.

Speaking of the Mangy Dog Whoop Dee Doo, this Nashville-based podcast consistently features funny songs and parodies and whatnot produced by local professional funny people Jesse Perry, Mark Anundson, the previously mentioned Sean Parrott, Damian Anaya, Brad Edwards and more..

Mark Anundson is especially prolific. Not only is he the “Fungenieer” for the Mangy Dog Whoop Dee Doo, but he also hosts WRVU’s wildly popular “Get Up, Stand Up” radio show every Tuesday morning from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. on 91.1 FM & archived online in the horrible RealPlayer format. He also produces hilarious songs for his own funny podcast, Happy For Apathy and has released a cd of his musical fun. He recently headlined the Sunday Stand-up Showcase Showdown And Stuff at the Improv Nashville Comedy Theater, improvising several funny songs on the spot using only his keyboard and his very funny brain.

This isn’t nearly a comprehensive list of ALL the musical comedy acts in Nashville.. but it’s a start. Keep an eye on the NashvilleStandUp calendar for upcoming shows featuring these very funny people.

Sunday, March 22nd at 7:30pm Lahna Turner hosts a night of funny people who have music in their comedy acts, including Rik Roberts, Sean Parrott, Wynn Reichert, Bucky Habanero and Shantel Adams. Tickets are just $10, so buy them in advance before they sell out!

Zanies
2025 8th Avenue South
Nashville, TN
615-269-0221
www.zaniesnash.com