Virtual Laughs

SiriusXM streaming free virtual version of Austin's Moontower Comedy Festival

Roy Wood Jr. is slated to appear at Moontower.

Photo courtesy of Moontower Comedy Festival

The Moontower Comedy Festival has been postponed until September, but fans can still yuk it up. Beginning Tuesday, April 28, the Austin festival and SiriusXM will partner to launch Moontower as a virtual experience.

The five-day special will air exclusively on SiriusXM’s Raw Dog Comedy channel 99 starting tomorrow at 11 am CT through Saturday, May 2. The fest was originally scheduled to take place in Austin April 22-27, but it has since been rescheduled to September 16-19 in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to a release, SiriusXM will "recreate the event’s atmosphere" with a mix of standup performances; signature Moontower shows; and commentary from The Sklar Brothers, Pete Lee, Dana Gould, Jay Oakerson, Dan Soder, and Ron Bennington.

“We are thrilled to work with SiriusXM to present the first-ever Moontower Virtual Comedy Festival in April, right when we would all be experiencing it live,” said Lietza Brass, director of the Moontower Comedy Festival. “Rescheduling the festival to the fall created a huge void in the lives of our fans, staff, and artists, and SiriusXM’s innovative concept officially ranks them as the world’s most supportive collaborator. Together we’ve recreated the event virtually, filled with tons of exclusive sneak peeks, so fans can be thoroughly entertained before gathering in Austin this September.”

Fans can tune into the hour-long segments for free at 11 am and again at 4 pm. On Saturday, May 2, SiriusXM will replay the entire marathon beginning at 11 am CT.

Current SiriusXM subscribers can of course listen for free, as can non-subscribers through the SiriusXM app and supported devices. The satellite radio provider recently announced it was providing free streaming access through May 15 as the country navigates its way through the global pandemic.

“We love being a part of Moontower every year and [are] disappointed that we have to wait to attend the festival in person, but this is a fun way to recreate the experience for comedy fans,” said Jack Vaughn, SiriusXM’s senior VP of comedy programming. “We are happy to team up with Moontower to deliver this event to listeners in the safety and convenience of their homes.”

As mentioned, Moontower is rescheduled for this fall, a time when we can hopefully leave our homes again. Confirmed headliners include Nikki Glaser, Nick Kroll, Ronny Chieng, Maria Bamford, Middleditch and Schwartz, Roy Wood Jr., and more. Badges and passes are on sale now.

festivals comedy

This week's hot headlines

Wurstfest waltzes into this week's 5 hottest Austin headlines

Photo courtesy of Wurstfest

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Editor's note: A lot happened this week, so here's your chance to get caught up. Read on for the week's most popular headlines. Looking for the best things to do this weekend? Find that list here.

1. New Braunfels sausage and beer extravaganza Wurstfest returns for 2024. German culture is on display in many subtle ways throughout Texas' historic towns; Wurstfest is not one of those ways. This oompah-driven, battered-and-fried, lederhosen-clad beer and sausage festival is coming back to New Braunfels for its annual festivities November 1-10.

2. Sixth Street icehouse branches out with posh, old-school sports club. There’s no shortage of spots to grab a drink in East Austin. But despite the area’s wide range of bar offerings — from cocktail lounges to dives — it comes up surprisingly short on sports bars. Enter Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (WTF) Sporting Club, which is taking over the giant East 7th space vacated earlier this year by Easy Tiger.

3. Austin's famous Katz's makes a comeback in the same location. There is good news this week for all Austinites pining for a simpler — and if you ask them, better — Austin of the past. The beloved West 6th Street eatery Katz's is making a comeback more than 10 years after it famously closed. Someone in the Katz family has re-purchased the original location and is hoping to bring back the good old days.

4. Popular Austin hospitality group stirs up sunny new daytime cafe. Since debuting in 2009, Jack Allen’s Kitchen’s weekend brunch has been a staple of Austin’s many best-of lists. Now, owners Jack Gilmore and Tom Kamm are upping the ante. The restaurateurs have founded a new concept, Day Maker Half Day Café, to bring that AM magic seven days a week.

5. Spectacular Austin Trail of Lights gets even more festive with weddings. Locals who feel sentimental about the 60-year-old Austin Trail of Lights now have a shimmering new way to make it part of their personal stories. Surely many have proposed to partners at the Christmas installation, but now they can get married there, too.