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New York Comedy Festival 2026: Dave Chappelle, Bruce Springsteen, Jon Stewart and More Headline 10 Days of Comedy
Founded by comedy pioneer Caroline Hirsch, the 22nd annual New York Comedy Festival runs Nov. 6-15, bringing more than 200 comedians to stages across the five boroughs for stand-up, live podcasts, television panels, offbeat shows and a spotlight on rising talent.
Ten days. More than 200 comedians. Hundreds of shows. Five New York City boroughs.
If you can’t find something to laugh about at the 22nd annual New York Comedy Festival, running Nov. 6-15, maybe comedy just isn’t your thing. Or you’ve checked your sense of humor at the door.
The lineup features established comedy stars including Dave Chappelle, Marc Maron, Ilana Glazer and Jordan Klepper, alongside emerging performers hoping to make their mark. And stand-up is only part of the story. The festival also features live podcasts, improv, film and television screenings, industry panels and special events.
Behind it all is Caroline Hirsch, who founded the festival in 2004 after more than two decades of building Carolines into one of New York’s legendary comedy clubs. What began as a five-day event with 12 shows has become one of the country’s largest annual comedy festivals, with Hirsch continuing to champion both established performers and emerging talent.
The Big Names: Dave Chappelle, Marc Maron, Ilana Glazer and More
Dave Chappelle brings his Karmageddon show to Madison Square Garden for two nights, Nov. 6 and 7.
Marc Maron, whose sharp, often brutally candid observations have made him one of comedy’s most distinctive voices, brings his Yammering Into the Void Tour to the Beacon Theatre on Nov. 8.
Ilana Glazer, co-creator and star of Broad City, takes the Beacon stage Nov. 13, while Scottish comedian Daniel Sloss brings his Bitter show to the same theater Nov. 14.
Saturday Night Live performer Sarah Sherman teams up with comedian Patti Harrison at Town Hall on Nov. 8.
Jordan Jensen, who made history in 2021 as the first woman to win the festival’s New York’s Funniest Stand-Up competition, headlines the Beacon Theatre on Nov. 12. Since that win, Jensen has built a national following and released her Netflix stand-up special, Take Me With You.
Jordan Klepper, familiar to audiences from The Daily Show, hosts Sh&t Show at Town Hall on Nov. 14.
Also appearing are Ms. Pat, Joanne McNally, Jess Hilarious, Jeremy Piven, Adam Ray, Moshe Kasher, Eddie Pepitone, Adam Friedland and many more.
Bruce Springsteen, Jon Stewart and 20 Years of Stand Up for Heroes
One of the festival’s signature events celebrates a major milestone this year.
The 20th annual Stand Up for Heroes takes place Nov. 9 at David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center, with Bruce Springsteen, Jon Stewart, Hasan Minhaj, Josh Johnson, Alex Warren and The Resilient, a band of wounded veterans.
Created in 2007 through a partnership involving Hirsch and the Bob Woodruff Foundation, the event combines comedy, music and philanthropy to support veterans, military families and caregivers.
Over the years, Stand Up for Heroes has attracted performers including Jerry Seinfeld, Stephen Colbert, John Mulaney, Jim Gaffigan, Ricky Gervais and Springsteen, who has become one of the event’s most recognizable supporters.
The annual benefit has raised more than $117 million since its inception.
NBC’s 100th Anniversary Brings Tracy Morgan, Daniel Radcliffe and More
Television comedy gets its own spotlight with two special events celebrating NBC’s centennial, both at the Hard Rock Hotel New York. Admission is free, but tickets are required.
On Nov. 14, NBC100 Presents: The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins features an advance screening of an episode of the NBC comedy, followed by a discussion with stars Tracy Morgan, Daniel Radcliffe, Erika Alexander, Bobby Moynihan, Precious Way and Jalyn Hall.
Series co-creators Robert Carlock and Sam Means will also participate, with Josh Horowitz moderating.
The following day, NBC100 Presents: The Next Great NBC Comedy brings together performers and creators associated with some of television’s most popular comedies.
The Nov. 15 conversation includes 30 Rock stars Jane Krakowski and Judah Friedlander, Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s Chelsea Peretti, Sunset P.I. actress Jane Levy, and writers and producers Dan Goor and Luke Del Tredici.
The two programs offer audiences a chance to hear directly from the performers and writers behind the shows.
Who’s Next? Variety’s 10 Comics to Watch and New York’s Funniest Stand-Ups
Even with a lineup packed with familiar names, discovering the next generation of comedians remains a central part of the festival.
For the first time, the New York Comedy Festival is partnering with Variety to present its annual 10 Comics to Watch, bringing the entertainment publication’s showcase of emerging talent into the festival’s official programming.
The presentation takes place Nov. 12 at the Hard Rock Hotel New York, with the 2026 honorees featured in Variety’s Nov. 4 issue.
Since launching the list in 2000, Variety has recognized comedians who went on to major careers, including Wanda Sykes, Patton Oswalt, Fred Armisen, Zach Galifianakis, Ayo Edebiri, Hannah Einbinder and Nate Bargatze.
New York’s Funniest Standups
Another festival institution, New York’s Funniest Stand-Ups, returns Nov. 13 at The Stand West. For 16 years, the event was a competition that helped introduce performers including Nate Bargatze, Michael Che, Josh Johnson and Ricky Velez.
In 2025, the competition was reimagined as a curated showcase, with the festival’s booking team selecting promising comedians to perform before audiences and industry professionals.
The festival is also presenting The Breakouts, reviving a Carolines tradition of showcasing young comedians on the verge of bigger things. Performances take place Nov. 12 and 13 at The Stand NYC.
Other Festival Highlights: Rolonda Watts, HERsterical and More
Rolonda Watts, best known to television audiences as the host of her nationally syndicated talk show, Rolonda, also regularly headlines comedy clubs across the country. On Nov. 6 at 8 p.m., she brings what the festival bills as her most personal show yet to Rodney’s Comedy Club, performing a full hour of stand-up.
HERsterical: One Big Fabulous Comedy Party!, hosted by Cristina Coté, returns to Broadway Comedy Club on Nov. 11 at 8:30 p.m. Featuring an all-female lineup of stand-up and sketch performers, the show has had four sold-out appearances at the New York Comedy Festival.
Gayme Show!, starring Matt Rogers and Dave Mizzoni, brings its comedy competition format to BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center on Nov. 6.
Dropout Improv takes the stage at Brooklyn’s Kings Theatre on Nov. 13.
Podcasts, Film Screenings and More
The festival’s lineup also extends to live podcasts, film screenings and conversations about comedy.
Among the offerings is a live recording of the Good One with Jesse Fox podcast on Nov. 8, which explores the creative process behind comedy.
The festival also includes an Anxiety Club screening and conversation on Nov. 7 and a screening and Q&A for Dane Cook: Funny Money on Nov. 15.
Other programming includes comedy album recordings, sketch performances, industry conversations and special events at clubs and theaters throughout the city.
In Conversation With Caroline Hirsch
Long before the New York Comedy Festival became a fixture on the city’s entertainment calendar, Caroline Hirsch was helping shape New York’s comedy scene.
She opened Carolines in 1982, eventually moving the club to Times Square in 1992, where it became one of the country’s best-known comedy venues and a destination for established stars and up-and-coming performers alike.
Although the Times Square club closed in 2022, after a 40 year run, Hirsch continues to lead the festival she created more than two decades ago.
SPARK spoke exclusively to Caroline Hirsch to get her take on the NY Comedy Festival highlights this year, and of course, since its Spark Hamptons, what she also loves about being out on The East End.
INTERVIEW WITH CAROLINE HIRSCH – founder of Carolines, producer of NY Comedy Festival
Carolines was a legendary comedy club. Jerry Seinfeld, Jay Leno, Billy Crystal, Wanda Sykes,. Chris Rock – the list of stars who played there is endless. What was it like to see performers come up through the ranks?
CAROLINE HIRSH: It was phenomenal. Everybody played there.
I remember when Jon Stewart and Joy Behar were opening acts at Carolines.
I met Joy back in the early 80s. We put her up as an opening act and she kept working on her material. She pursued and pursued. She had that ‘thing’. She’s clever. And she’s still going on. She was at the right place at the right time, she met the right people and she took a great job.
It doesn’t happen for everybody. Even the most talented people sometimes they don’t get the break, or they have things in their life that hold them back, like drugs, or alcohol. Sometimes there’s suicide. There is so much talent out there.
What’s it like to see how the Comedy Festival has evolved over 22 years?
It’s big. It’s the largest comedy festival in the country. It went from a four day long weekend to 10 days. We’ve got close to 300 shows all around New York City if you count them all and the ones we do twice, plus all the competitions.
And it’s not just standup. There’s improv, podcasts, digital creators, international comics — a full spectrum of comedy.
Comedy has never been as diverse as it is right now.
So many great shows at the NY Comedy Fest – what are you most excited about this year?
I’m looking forward to working with Dave Chapelle again, who’s opening the festival on Nov. 6.
I haven’t worked with him in many many years. I knew Dave when he was a kid, 19 years old. I met him I the late 80s and he worked at Carolines at the Seaport. So it will be great to see him and have him open the festival.
What is it about certain comics that make you say, “This kid’s got something.”
I think it’s the originality. Their atttiude. How they write, how they keep up with things, and just keep going on stage
You have had two homes, in NYC and in Water Mill. What is it about the East End that draws you there?
It’s the calmness. It’s so different than the city. I’ve had a place in Water Mill for 40 years. And I just love the light, and watching the full moons.
I once said to somebody that once you cross the Shinnecock canal there seems to be a calmness that happens, and it got picked up in the press..
Sure it’s changed over the years here. The farms are gone, traffic has filled up.
But it’s still a glorious place, especially in the fall and winter. The light is extraordinary.
How long do you think you’ll be doing the New York Comedy Festival?
Until the public says, “No, no more. We don’t want anymore.
It just has expanded so much. It’s great to know we can produce all these different kinds of shows. We’ve got a lot of variety. It’s a yearly project. It doesn’t just happen overnight.
How many shows will you see during the Comedy Fest?
I’ll probably stop in at three to four shows every night of the 10 day festival. There are so many great shows, from our 20th annual Standup for Heroes benefit with Jon Stewart and Springsteen (at David Geffen Hall in Lincoln Center), to the Moth x Comic Relief show at Town Hall, to Jordan Jensen at the Beacon, plus 10 Comics to Watch at the Hard Rock. That’s just a taste.
It’s amazing to experience.
IF YOU GO
What: 22nd annual New York Comedy Festival
When: Nov. 6-15, 2026
Where: Venues throughout New York City’s five boroughs, including Madison Square Garden, the Beacon Theatre, Town Hall, Kings Theatre, Lincoln Center, Hard Rock Hotel New York and numerous comedy clubs.
Tickets: Prices vary by performance. Select events, including the NBC anniversary programs, are free with tickets required.
Full lineup and tickets: https://nycomedyfestival.com/
