The initial lineup for the 2019 SXSW Comedy Festival has arrived! For over 10 years, the festival has curated an all-star lineup of emerging and established comedians. From March 8-16, SXSW Comedy features stand up showcases, improv performances, conversations, podcast recordings, and more. Open to all SXSW Badges and Music and Film Wristbands, SXSW Comedy is always sure to introduce exciting new comics to festival attendees and dazzle them with some of the best and brightest comics working today.

2019 SXSW Comedy Festival Participants

Abbi Jacobson • Amy Miller • Anna Seregina • Baron Vaughn • Beth Stelling • Busy Philipps • Dave Hill • Debra DiGiovanni • Doug Benson • Dulce Sloan • Erin Foley • Erik Griffin • Eugene Mirman • Horatio Sanz • Ian Edwards • Ilana Glazer • Jaboukie Young-White • James Adomian • Jessica McKenna • Johnny Pemberton • Jon Gabrus • Josh Johnson • Kathy Griffin • Kurt Braunohler • Leonard Maltin • Liza Treyger • Marc Maron • Mark Normand • Matt Besser • Matt Braunger • Megan Gailey • Michael Kosta • Michaela Watkins • Mike Lawrence • Nick Thune • Open Mike Eagle • Paul F. Tompkins • Ramy Youssef • Ricky Velez • Ronny Chieng • Roy Wood Jr. • Sam Jay • Stuart Goldsmith • Tim Heidecker • Todd Barry • Todd Glass • Whitmer Thomas • Plus surprise guests and more

2019 SXSW Comedy Festival Special Programs

Advice from a Dipshit with Matt Braunger • An Evening with Todd Glass • ASSSSCAT • The Comedian’s Comedian • The Daily Show News Team Live • Doug Loves Movies • Dynasty Typewriter • improv4humans • The Laugh Button Live! • Loud Village Live • The New Negroes with Baron Vaughn and Open Mike Eagle • Roast Battle • The Todd Barry Podcast and more

The festival opens on Friday, March 8 with James Adomian’s Elon Musk Keynote: The Frightening and Awful Future of Humanity. In his second-ever SXSW address, the visionary interplanetary engineer will unveil his new high-tech super project and detail his newest slate of world-saving endeavors from Tesla Motors, SpaceX, and his thousands of other companies. Behold in awe as Elon Musk (Adomian) dives into the exciting future of technology, social media and other buzzwords.

Following the world premiere of Kathy Griffin: A Hell of a Story, Kathy Griffin will sit down for a conversation about her now infamous photoshoot which left her besieged by an angry president and vengeful media, led to unemployment and a slew of death threats, and opened a door to a new chapter in her storied career. The discussion will center around free speech, fake news, and the comedian’s precarious role in today’s cultural divide.

Comedy Central brings two exciting showcases to the festival this year. The Daily Show News Team Live will take to the stage with stand-up performances by Ronny Chieng, Michael Kosta, Dulcé Sloan, Roy Wood Jr. and Jaboukie Young-White. The New Negroes with Baron Vaughn and Open Mike Eagle, a new stand-up and musical series which premieres on the network this Spring, is dedicated to providing a platform for diverse voices. The duo will present their socially aware and long-running live stage show at the fest, leading a lineup of comedians with musical guest Phonte.

Also at the intersection of comedy and music, Riffs and Riff Raff with Nick Thune & Friends will bring Thune together with a variety of musically inclined comics, headlined by fellow guitar-playing comedian Tim Heidecker. There will be multiple chances to catch An Evening with Todd Glass, a self-mocking take on the traditional lounge act. Saddled with a deliberately uncooperative band, Glass is like an exhausted dad corralling his mischievous kids, doing what he can to keep the show running smoothly.

Upright Citizen’s Brigade (UCB) cofounder, Matt Besser, returns with a slate of shows. He’ll lead UCB’s wildly popular ASSSSCAT, which showcases a premiere group of improvisers as they riff on true tales from celebrity guests. This year’s monologist will be none other than Broad City’s Ilana Glazer. Besser will also bring his hit podcast improv4humans to the stage and he’ll spark up some high-minded comedy along with Abbi Jacobson at festival favorite, 420 Show with Matt Besser.

This year’s festival will feature a selection of the country’s most exciting purveyors of comedy. The Laugh Button returns with New York’s Gotham Comedy Club to present a roster of favorites from the iconic club’s stage. Paul F. Tompkins will host Dynasty Typewriter Presents That’s Enchantertainment!, a variety show in the spirit of LA’s new hit comedy venue. Busy Phillips, Kurt Braunohler, and a lineup of some of the brightest comics working today will keep the laughs coming all night long. Plus Roast Battle is back to offend for another year. The original team from The Comedy Store in LA will lead the anything-goes brawl of wits. Host Brian Moses, DJ Coach Tea, and dynamic hype crew The Wave (Jeremiah Watkins, Willie Hunter, and Jamar Neighbors) will be joined by 2016 Roast Battle champion Mike Lawrence, who will preside over the judging panels for all three nights of the competition.

The schedule also features a slate of live podcast recordings. Doug Benson will record his hit game-show, Doug Loves Movies. Renowned film historian Leonard Maltin will talk all things cinema with a comedic guest in an episode of Maltin on Movies. Stuart Goldsmith’s podcast, The Comedian’s Comedian, has grown into a giant on the UK comedy scene attracting a who’s who of British comedy. Curious and insightful, he’ll bring his distinctive style stateside to interview Eugene Mirman, Matt Braunger, and other fellow comedians. Braunger will also answer your voicemails and give questionable counsel with his show, Advice From A Dipshit with Matt Braunger.

Stay tuned for further announcements from SXSW Comedy, which will include information about additional performers, showcases, and events. Full details and lineups will soon be live at sxsw.com/comedy/2019. The SXSW Comedy Festival is open to all SXSW Badges, Music Festival Wristbands, and Film Festival Wristbands.

In addition to the SXSW Comedy Festival lineup, many of the comedians performing will also be featured in selections from the SXSW Film Festival including Eugene Mirman’s It Started As a Joke and Kathy Griffin’s special, Kathy Griffin: A Hell of a Story. In the same vein, Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer will screen the final three episodes of their hit Comedy Central show Broad City. Michaela Watkins co-stars in Sword of Trust, and Good Boys (produced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg) is co-written by comedian and festival regular Beth Stelling. Tim Heidecker stars in Jordan Peele’s new film Us, James Adomian pops up in Chris Morris’ new film The Day Shall Come, and Kurt Braunohler appears in Long Shot, co-starring Seth Rogen and Charlize Theron.

Featured performers will also make appearances at the SXSW Conference. Most notably, Trevor Noah and The Daily Show correspondents including Roy Wood Jr., Ronny Chieng, Michael Kosta, Dulcé Sloan, Desi Lydic, and Jaboukie Young-White will hold court with CNN Anchor & Chief Washington Correspondent Jake Tapper. Their wide-ranging discussion will focus on how today’s fast-paced media cycle has changed the late-night comedy landscape.

Register today for SXSW 2019 to celebrate the convergence of the interactive, film, and music industries from March 8-17 in Austin, TX.