This week, the Wild West Comedy Festival — the Nashville-based laugh-apalooza established by Vince Vaughn in 2013 — takes over venues from Zanies to War Memorial Auditorium, the Ryman and beyond. The fest features a vast lineup including longtime marquee names (like Chris Tucker and Jeff Foxworthy), on-the-rise relative newcomers (like T.J. Miller and Adam Conover), podcasts (Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes' Jay & Silent Bob Get Old, for instance) and one country star (Brad Paisley, who will host a night of stand-up at Zanies on May 16).
A rundown of every single comic playing WWCF would likely use up all of our ink and then some. (And by the way, see our listings for more info on shows, show times, prices and more.) So instead, we spoke to a handful of the festival's most anticipated performers and rounded up some of our recommendations for shows to check out.
See our interview with Maria Bamford, whose new series Lady Dynamite premieres on Netflix the very same day she performs at the Ryman. We also spoke with one of the brains behind the Trump vs. Bernie Debate Tour — comedian-impressionist James Adomian — and had an email exchange with comedian and Daily Show host Trevor Noah. Visit Country Life, our arts and culture blog, for more coverage, including an interview with WWCF headliner Kathy Griffin.
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