South By Southwest (SXSW) has officially announced the lineup for SXSW Comedy, which will take place from March 10 - 17 in Austin, Texas. The festival's comedy programming has grown considerably since last year, with showcases, live podcast tapings and interactive shows stretching continuously throughout SXSW for the first time. The festival has announced 62 comedians scheduled to appear, nearly doubling last year's roster of performers.
Although SXSW is known for its music, film, and more recently, interactive portions of the festival, the comedy programming looks designed to delight both devoted comedy fans as well as casual observers. In fact, five of the comedians who landed on HuffPost Comedy's favorite comedy albums of 2011 list will be performing at the festival.
Part of the fun of SXSW Comedy is not knowing which performers will show up at which shows, although a full list of confirmed comedians has been released (and can be found in full at the bottom of this post). Some of the more well-known acts include Todd Barry, Doug Benson, Mike Birbiglia, Wyatt Cenac, John Hodgman, Marc Maron, T.J. Miller, Eugene Mirman, Kevin Pollack, Amy Schumer, Paul Provenza, Kristen Schaal and Reggie Watts.
Already announced were eight podcast recordings that will take place during the festival, including a special "WTF with Marc Maron," featuring veteran actor Jeffrey Tambor as Maron's guest. "Comedy Bang! Bang!" another popular podcast hosted by Scott Aukerman, will also appear at the festival, as well as an Austin version of the popular Comedy Bang! Bang! live show held weekly at the Upright Citizens Brigade theater in Los Angeles. Under its former title, Comedy Death-Ray, Aukerman's show has had a presence at SXSW for the last five years, even before SXSW Comedy was a large-scale presence at the festival.
SXSW Comedy is free to all badge and wristband holders for anyone attending Interactive, film or music, and due to that, the comedy shows are loosely affiliated with them. For example, Mike Birbiglia will be promoting his film, "Sleepwalk With Me," at SXSW Film, but is also announced as part of the SXSW Comedy lineup. In the past, actors and musicians attending SXSW would often drop into the comedy shows. The podcasts announced also fall into the spirit of both the comedy and interactive portions of the festival.
Below is a list of each day's planned shows. For information on times and venues, please visit SXSW Comedy's official site.
Saturday, March 10
Doug Loves Movies with Doug Benson
A Carlin Home Companion (Kelly Carlin, daughter of George, tells stories about her unique life and family.)
The Smartest Man In The World with Greg Proops
Comedy Bang! Bang! (showcase)
Sunday, March 11
WTF with Marc Maron
Comedy Bang Bang with Scott Aukerman (podcast)
The Cast of "Bob’s Burgers" Live (Comedians on the Fox animated show perform their stand-up.)
Monday, March 12
Stag Comedy (Austin-based comedy show that blends sketch and video.)
Kevin Pollak’s Chat Show
Funny or Die presents The Super Serious Show (Also a mix of stand-up, sketch and video.)
Tuesday, March 13
RISK! (Kevin Allison's super-confessional storytelling show.)
You Made It Weird with Pete Holmes
UCB Comedy presents: All-Stars of Improv
Tuesday, March 13
UCB Comedy presents: The Best Damn Stand-up (Hosted by Pete Holmes and Gabe Liedman.)
Wednesday, March 14
UCB Comedy presents: The Chris Gethard Show
Thursday, March 15
Set List with Paul Provenza
Stand Up! Records (Showcase for the politically-minded record label.)
Friday, March 16
Earwolf presents: Sklarbro Country with Jason and Randy Sklar
The Benson Interruption (Doug Benson provides live commentary to comedians' sets.)
"Legend" with Reggie Watts (The musical mastermind provides a live score to the Ridley Scott movie "Legend.")
Saturday, March 17
Earwolf presents: Who Charted? with Howard Kremer and Kulap Vilaysack
The Benson Interruption
The festival will also include a number of as-yet-unannounced panels, where the intersection of comedy and media will be discussed.
Full list of performers:
James Adomian, Scott Aukerman, Kevin Allison, Todd Barry, Doug Benson, Mike Birbiglia, Kurt Braunohler, Jerrod Carmichael, Wyatt Cenac, Chris Cubas, Andres du Bouchet, Ian Edwards, Cameron Esposito, Matt Fulchiron, Brett Gelman, Chris Gethard, Gary Gulman, John Hodgman, Pete Holmes, Louis Katz, Martha Kelly, Robert Kelly, Kyle Kinane, Jessi Klein, Howard Kremer, Ben Kronberg, Mike Lawrence, Kristine Levine, Gabe Liedman, Mike MacRae, Marc Maron, T.J. Miller, Dan Mintz, Eugene Mirman, Nick Mullen, Larry Murphy, Aparna Nancherla, Kumail Nanjiani, Shannon O’Neill, DC Pierson, Kevin Pollack, Chip Pope, Greg Proops, Paul Provenza, Jonah Ray, Amy Schumer, Kristen Schaal, Ari Shaffir, Eliza Skinner, Jason Sklar, Randy Sklar, Dan Soder, Dan St. Germain, Beth Stelling, Ryan Stout, Nick Turner, Brooke Van Poppelen, Kulap Vilaysack, Brendon Walsh, Brandon Wardell, Reggie Watts, Joe Wengert.