Austin's main annual dose of comedy has been prescribed: Moontower Comedy Festival is returning April 9-19, and just the first wave of talent includes more than 100 performers across 10 venues. Now a second wave of talent has been announced for the festival's 13th year.
Attendees will see shows and stand-up showcases, live podcasts, sketch comedy, musical comedy, and more. There are also parties and other special events tying everything together.
New headliners in the second wave include:
- Aziz Ansari, creator of the series Master of None and actor behind the whimsical, sometimes whiny Parks and Recreation character Tom Haverford.
- Pete Holmes, star of HBO's Crashing and host of the You Made It Weird podcast, who is specifically bringing his Feelin' It Tour to Moontower.
- Hank Azaria, the voice behind Simpsons characters like Moe Szyslak, Chief Wiggum, Superintendent Chalmers, and who will be playing with his EZ Street Band.
- John Waters, known lovingly as the "Pope of Trash," having directed movies like Pink Flamingos and Hairspray. He's bringing a new show for his Moontower debut.
- Tiffany Haddish, author of The Last Black Unicorn, known for standup comedy, and a breakout role in Girls Trip.
- Zarna Garg, known for addressing the Indian diaspora as a self-proclaimed "overbearing Indian auntie," who is bringing her Practical People Win tour.
A bit more insight on some of the headliners:
- Adam Ray parodies (and dresses up as) the famous talk show host Dr. Phil on Dr. Phil Live. He also interviews celebrity guests and uses audience interaction to get the crowd going.
- Handsome Pod Livefeatures Tig Notaro, Fortune Feimster, and Mae Martin — all big-name comedians in their own rights — and answer questions from friends about really any topic imaginable.
- Atsuko Okatsuka's HBO special The Intruder has been lauded by The New York Times as the Best Debut of 2022, the same year she was named one of Variety's Top 10 Comics to Watch.
- Joey “Coco” Diaz, bestselling author of Tremendous: The Life of a Comedy Savage, brings his storytelling skills to the stage.
Although there are tons of very famous performers on the lineup, there's also local talent: a press release lists Liza Splatt, Andrew Murphy, Ashley Sharma, Avery Moore, Brett VerVoort, Chris Tellez, Colton Dowling, Danny Goodwin, Doug Mellard, Dylan Carlino, Genivive Clinton, "and many more."
Badges (starting at $150) are available now at moontowercomedyfest.com. A promotion called the Bestie Badge offers $25 off of every badge to those who buy two or more. Badges can also be purchased at the Paramount Theatre box office or by calling (512) 474-1221. Like any festival lineup, this one is subject to change.
