3 NIGHTS. 15+ SHOWS. 100+ Comics. Downtown Paris,TX. January 25-27, 2024
All about it.....
The Tower City Comedy Festival....
brings in over 100 comics, podcasters and more to downtown Paris Texas to perform over three days. They participate in panels, clinics and other industry growing seminars.
Starting in 2019, Tower City Comedy has become one of the premier festival for working comics in Texas and the South.
Performers come from...
All over the country and even the world. Comics find really useable networking connections and education to further their careers.
Treated Like Royalty. Kind of....
- All selected comics have access to:
- Hospitality Suite with free meals and drinks.
- Fest Bags with "goodies"
- Discounted hotel rooms
- Access to Panels, Clinics, and podcasts.
- This year we have parties and even a kick ass Texas BBQ!
2024 SHOWS
HEADLINER
HEADLINER
HEADLINER
Laurie Kilmartin is stand up comedian and an Emmy-nominated, WGA award-winning comedy writer. She was a staff writer for all 11 years of CONAN on TBS, and has performed standup on CONAN, Late Late Show w/James Corden, and Comedy Central. She was a Top 10 finalist on season 9 of NBC's Last Comic Standing, and has been a guest on Marc Maron's WTF 3 times. Her first book, Shitty Mom, was a NY Times bestseller. Her special 45 Jokes About My Dead Dad, was named Vulture 's Top Ten Comedy Specials of 2016. She appeared on Episode 1 of Hillary Clinton’s 2022 Apple TV series Gutsy. Her 3rd album Corset was released in Oct of 2021- buy or stream Corset.
HEADLINER
HEADLINER
HEADLINER
Eddie Ifft has been called one of the most underrated comics in America by the Onion and has proudly told jokes around the world to sold-out crowds in over 15 countries. Most recently Eddie is co-host of one of the most successful podcasts in the comedy world called Talkin’ Sh*t. He has recently released his DVD, “I Love Pussy.” which is the follow up to his critically acclaimed DVD “Live From Australia” which was filmed in front of a sold out audience at the Sydney Opera House in Sydney Australia.
He has also released his own 30-minute special for Comedy Central and made numerous TV appearances on shows such as Showtime’s the Green Room with Paul Provenza, Showtime’s Tommy Chong 420 Show, E!’s Chelsea Lately, NBC’s Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central’s Premium Blend, BET’s Comic View, NBC’s Late Friday Night, VH1’s Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Comic’s Unleashed.Eddie’s popularity has span to Australia, where he has appeared on numerous TV shows, including Rove, Thank God You’re Here, The Footy Show and Good News Week. Eddie has also worked as the host of Shark Week, spent a season as the ABC College Football Guy, earned a job as ‘man-on-the-street’ on the Queen Latifah Show, hosted a pilot called Strap-On for Comedy Central, and co-hosted a sports radio show on New York’s legendary WNEW.
Eddie has been working diligently on his new podcast The Bingle Show, set to launch in early 2016. The Bingle Show was a crowd-funded success on Kickstarter with fans from all over the globe supporting the purchase of a used “short bus” to be transformed into a mobile podcasting studio… taking Eddie and his team on the road for a brand new show.
HEADLINER
HEADLINER
DAVID LUCAS
Gene Pompa’s television credits include numerous appearances on Comedy Central,
Conan O’Brien and several appearances on The Late, Late Show on CBS. Other credits include
Stand Up For The Troops on CMT, HBO, BET, Scrubs and In Living Color. Most recently he had
the honor of entertaining our women and men in uniform in South Korea and Japan.
He has starred in two Happy Madison films “Just Go With It” and “Bucky Larson: Born
To Be A Star”.
Gene’s offbeat perspective seems to go over extremely well with the junior college age
audience. As well as crosses all racial and ethnic lines. He headlines regularly at comedy clubs
across the country; doing a stand-up show with great social relevance and irrelevance.
Gene was born in East Los Angeles and raised in the working-class suburbs of Southern
California. He’s been a Mexican-American for most of his life, except for a few years during the
80’s, when he was a “practicing Chicano”.
DAVID LUCAS
Seance Comedy Show sponsored by TownsendFox
DAVID LUCAS
"David Lucas started his career early on the MTV "Yo Momma" show. Soon after being on the show, he moved to Hollywood to pursue his entertainment career. Landing a role on his hit show "Roast Me" on All Def Digital he became a popular name. When David became a regular on the Kill Tony Show he was acknowledged by legendary comedians as a quick-witted joke writer and a vicious Roaster. He is solidifying his name as one of the greatest comics of his generation. You can catch him headlining across the country and also opening for Louis CK, Joe Rogan, Tony Hinchcliffe and Brendan Schaub.
Sundae in Paris Hysterical Tour
Seance Comedy Show sponsored by TownsendFox
Seance Comedy Show sponsored by TownsendFox
Such a fun and new show! Comics take turns leading tour groups to actual points of hisrorical interests, that they make up their version on their own. Sponsored by Sundae in Paris!
Seance Comedy Show sponsored by TownsendFox
Seance Comedy Show sponsored by TownsendFox
Seance Comedy Show sponsored by TownsendFox
Imagine performing at midnight by candlelight in a 100 year old basement, while a Paranormal Speciallist takes EPV readings during your set. Well that's the kind of wacked out #$%* we come up with!
Patrick Sisk Roast Battle
Patrick Sisk Roast Battle
Patrick Sisk Roast Battle
A tradition at TCCF, is the Annual Roast Battle, where the victor gets the following year's event named after them and are invited back to host it.
OFF THE CUFF
Patrick Sisk Roast Battle
Patrick Sisk Roast Battle
A group of comics perform stand up they have no idea what the topics are until given to them on the spot. Watch some of the quickest names in comedy turn a laugh or a complete bomb. Either way it's a great time!
HEADLINER
Patrick Sisk Roast Battle
HEADLINER
TBA
2023 Alumni
Todd Glass
Paul Varghese
JIMMY PARDO
Tosh.O, Comedy Central, Netflix and host of the Todd Glass Show! A national treasure, who's fits of anger on stage make forsome of the best comedy.
JIMMY PARDO
Paul Varghese
JIMMY PARDO
A seasoned veteran of comedy clubs and late night television, Jimmy Pardo has appeared on such shows as The Tonight Show, Conan, The Late Late Show and his own half hour special on Comedy Central. Most recently he was the host of the critically acclaimed Science Channel show Race To Escape. Jimmy regularly appears on TBS’ Conan as a panel guest, but he has also been Conan’s go-to warm-up, field correspondent, sketch player and even fill-in cohost. He has also conducted some very unconventional celebrity backstage interviews for Teamcoco.com‘s “The Pardo Patrol.”
In 2006, Jimmy Pardo became a podcasting pioneer when he began hosting the raucous-but-smart weekly podcast Never Not Funny, which Entertainment Weekly called “one of the sharpest and gut-bustingest shows on the Internet.” The show has been named a top comedy podcast by The AV Club, Esquire, GQ and USA Today, and its guest list (Conan O’Brien, Jon Hamm, Richard Lewis, Zach Galifianakis and Sarah Silverman, just to name a few) reads like a Who’s Who of Hollywood
Paul Varghese
Paul Varghese
Paul Varghese
Paul Varghese insists he’s committed to making his career on stage, and doing it from Dallas. He already is, actually: He’s had a Comedy Central special, tours colleges and clubs and festivals around the country, and last year opened for Dave Chapelle during his impromptu swing through Texas.”
And there’s more: Varghese won the 2013 Laughing Skull Comedy Festival, a bracket of talent to rival anything March Madness can bring. This is all to say, Varghese has established himself as a top American comic and taken some of the biggest stages in the country, all before releasing his first CD.
Tower City Headliner Alumni
Jasmine Ellis 2022
Jasmine Ellis 2022
Jasmine Ellis 2022
Dry Bar, NPR's top 20 Comedy Album of 2022
Steve Byrne 2022
Jasmine Ellis 2022
Jasmine Ellis 2022
Comic, Director, actor, writer, Steve Byrne has has specials on Netflix, Comedy Central, and Showtime. Most noted for costarring role in TBS' "Sullivan and Sons".
Bill Dwyer 2022
Jasmine Ellis 2022
Joey Johnson 2022
Host on Battle Bots, Comedy Central Presents, Last Comic Standing and Parks and Recreatiion and more!
Joey Johnson 2022
John Wessling 2021
Joey Johnson 2022
Joey was our 2021 Roastbattle Winner and in a idea, we bring the winner back to host the following year and name the show after them! So enjoy the Joey Johnson Roast Battle!
Ralph Harris 2021
John Wessling 2021
John Wessling 2021
Movies like "Dream Girls" and "Evan Almighty", TV appearances like Seinfeld, A Comedy Central special, and a HBO half hour special makes Ralph Harris a Legend in Comedy!
John Wessling 2021
John Wessling 2021
John Wessling 2021
Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, Live at Gotham, and the Roast oof Jeff Foxworthy. John Wessling is also a regular on Carnival Cruise Lines
Jimmy Pardo 2020
Jenny Zigrino 2020
Shane Torres 2020
Our largest crowd ever was held in court by the never dissappointing Pioneer of Comedy Podcasting Jimmy Pardo. Never Not Funny, That 70's show, Conan, and more!
Shane Torres 2020
Jenny Zigrino 2020
Shane Torres 2020
Vulture magazine called his Guy Fieri bit on Conan was one of the top 100 bits of the 2000's.
Jenny Zigrino 2020
Jenny Zigrino 2020
Chris Fairbanks 2019
Bad Santa 2, Drunk History on Comedy Central, at Midnight, with Chris Hardwick, Conan, what has she not done!.
Chris Fairbanks 2019
Chris Fairbanks 2019
Chris Fairbanks 2019
Quirky and lovable, Fairbanks was our first. His Conan appearance is one of our top 10. His style is not replicable.
Eric Schwartz 2019
Chris Fairbanks 2019
Eric Schwartz 2019
His ability to insert music into his act, make him a super exciting fun show to watch.
Sarah Tiana 2019
Chris Fairbanks 2019
Eric Schwartz 2019
From Reno 911 to Light's Out with David Spade to Rob Riggle's side kick, she's America's Sweetheart comic.
The venues
Tower City Comedy
12 First Street NE
Downtown Paris Texas
South Main Iron
255 1st St SW
Downtown Paris Texas
Rigby's CIgar Lounge
10 North Plaza
Downtown Paris TX
The Cellar on First Street
28 SE 1st Street
Downtown Paris, Tx