There are several friends of NashvilleStandUp mentioned in today’s announcement of the list of the 24 stand-up comedians who will be competing for the top prize at the Great American Comedy Festival this June in Johnny Carson’s hometown of Norfolk, NE.
“These are some of the brightest, most intelligent and creative minds in the industry,” said Eddie Brill, the executive producer of the festival and the talent coordinator for the “Late Show with David Letterman.”
Brill and Lora Young, executive director of the festival, auditioned comedians in 10 cities across the United States — including New York City, Dallas, Seattle, Denver, Minneapolis, San Francisco, Boston and Chicago — to select the top 24 who wanted the chance to compete in Norfolk.
“As a result of the incredible success of last year’s festival, the good word has spread rapidly throughout the comedy community,” Brill said. “The high quality of comedians who auditioned for the Great American Comedy Festival made it so difficult to narrow the list down to just 24.”
The list includes: Keith Alberstadt (Nashville native, now living in New York City), Jesse Case (Nashville native, now living in Seattle), Pat Dixon (currently living in New York City.. he is not from Nashville, but was almost murdered by a crazy chick from here, so we claim him as our own), and Tim Harmston (from Minneapolis, who is a very good friend of our own Mary Mack).
The 24 comedians will be split up so that six perform at each of the four preliminary rounds of competition at the festival on Wednesday, June 17, at 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. and Thursday, June 18, at the same times.
Congratulations to everybody selected!