The second annual Janelle James Comedy Festival has just announced its initial lineup. Taking place Dec. 5-7, 2019 at The Bell House in Brooklyn, NY, the multi-day event will host a slew of exciting names in the world of comedy.
Among those included on the initial 2019 lineup are Marie Faustin (Comedy Central, VICELAND, MTV’s Girl Code), Kevin Iso (Comedy Central’s Adam Devine’s House Party, AXS TV’s Gotham Comedy Live), Yassir Lester (Girls, The Carmicheal Show, Showtime’s Black Monday), Sam Morril (The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Conan), Hadiyha Robinson (Comedy Central, BET, AXS TV), Kristen Toomey (NBC, WGN, Kevin Hart’s LOL Network), and Sydnee Washington (The UnOfficial Expert Podcast, Comedy Central).
The Janelle James Comedy Festival was formerly known as The Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival, changing names after comedian Eugene Mirman stepped down back in 2017. The namesake comedian agreed to pass the torch to Janelle James, who in turn hired Caroline Creaghead to produce the festival independently with her. Mirman, who made an appearance at the festival last year, said “I am thrilled to be part of the first annual Janelle James Comedy Festival. She’s so funny and it’s a joy to see the joke of a self-titled comedy festival live on and be reborn.”
James is a Los Angeles-based comedian who can be seen on the Netflix original The Comedy Lineup and HBO’s Crashing. Additionally, the stand-up comic has toured with Chris Rock on his Total Blackout Tour and the aforementioned Schumer on her Growing Tour. She currently writes on Showtime’s Black Monday and released her debut comedy album Black and Mild back in 2017.
The Janelle James Comedy Festival inaugural lineup featured guests including Amy Schumer, David Cross, Nore Davis, Judah Friedlander, Liza Treyger, Matteo Lane and Catherine Cohen, among others, and also saw a slew of surprise walk-ons. For more information on this year’s event, visit the festival’s official website.