Hey! It’s Brandon here. If you don’t know me, I am the founder and President of Big Laugh Comedy. I wanted to share a very important update with you regarding Big Laugh Comedy in Austin, TX.
If you are reading this, you have probably been to a show of ours at Vulcan Gas Company or the other venues we have worked with in Austin over the last 4 years.
We have pulled back producing shows in Austin. If you care at all why or just love tea, this post is the Boston Tea Party.
Where to start?
Let’s start at how we got here and then close out with where we are going.
How We Got Here
Back in 2020, when things started to open up in Texas, we started to explore venues to produce comedy shows. Prior to that, in the middle of the Pandemic, Cap City (the comedy club that served Austin for 30+ years) closed their doors in May. There was no comedy club in Austin.
The timing and the foresight to see that people, who wanted to come out, needed to laugh. They needed comedy.
That’s when fate brought us together with Vulcan Gas Company. Thanks to one of our online producers, Sarah.
A deal was struck quickly. We started doing comedy at the end October 2020. By the 4th show, we sold out socially distanced. The 5th show put us on the map, Tony Hinchcliffe headlined Vulcan on a Wednesday night.
Tony brought out Ron White and Joe Rogan to do spots.
Things took off, quickly, from there. We expanded into doing shows in San Antonio, then Houston and the Dallas Fort Worth area. Giving comedians a nice little Texas route.
Eventually we helped bring the lineup of Kill Tony on Mondays, Rogan on Tues and Wed (before Mothership), Secret Show on Thursdays and national touring headliners on the Weekends in Austin.
For over 2 years, you could see the best comedy in the world at Vulcan from Monday thru Sunday. It was incredible.
The best part was that we got it to grow from 100 people per show (socially distanced) to packing in 300+ people per night.
Big Laugh Comedy’s Role
At Big Laugh Comedy, our jobs varied. This partnership was born out of a very unique situation the pandemic created for businesses. Bars, music venues and private venues all faced a difficult time.
This partnership created a win-win situation for everyone. The venue would get customers. The customers would get to laugh. The comedians would get a place to perform and make a living.
We helped bring laughs to people and we helped bring the shows to the comedians. All while helping venues survive.
Our roles varied from situation to situation and venue to venue.
For shows like Kill Tony and Joe Rogan, there wasn’t much to do except let people know when the tickets were available. Those shows sold themselves.
Secret Show and headliners needed a little more attention. That’s where our marketing skills came into play.
For 2 ½ years, it was a blast.
Our sole purpose for Big Laugh Comedy has been and continues to be to make the world laugh. During that time, we were at the high point of making people laugh. It was incredible. I loved it.
Things changed. As they do.
Rogan opened up The Comedy Mothership. That was the biggest change.
Before the opening, there were changes happening behind the scenes. Mostly people getting jealous and greedy.
The comedy community can be very gossipy. And our name started to be thrown around in some very untrue acquisitions.
Rumors swirled around.
And that was that. I never spoke out about the rumors because they were all made up. Things we could prove that never happened.
But the rumors kept swirling.
I ignored it and focused on what was important. Making people laugh and giving comedians opportunities.
That’s when the opportunity of lifetime presented itself. It was not easy, however we were able to open our first (of many) comedy clubs in Fort Worth.
That endeavor has been one of the most challenging experiences of my life. A story for another time. But damn there is some tea there to spill. Trust me.
As we were preparing and building up for the opening of The Big Laugh Comedy Club in Fort Worth, the relationship with Vulcan’s management started to deteriorate.
Don’t get me wrong. I am very grateful for the opportunity that Nick gave me to bring comedy to Vulcan. I will always be appreciative. However, relationships and dynamics change.
The Downturn
Things were happening where it went against our values. Things that went against our core beliefs to create the best experience for both the audience and the comedians.
What made it worse is that we got blamed for it. Shows were being canceled and double booked with no regard to the process of booking shows.
Relationships are not always built for the long term. And the one with Vulcan always felt like there was an expiration date on it.
The reason we opened our own club was to have control over the experiences people have with us. To make people laugh. To execute on ideas we have to keep making people laugh and helping comedians grow.
That’s why now, as of now, we are pulling back on producing comedy shows at Vulcan Gas Company.
It was a hard decision to make, but one we made on our own. Don’t get it twisted. We would love to continue to book their full time like we used to. But a lot of things have changed.
Vulcan decided to go in a different direction. The good news is that Nick and I are back on the same page. For now, we are only going to be bringing select shows to Vulcan.
Starting with our good buddy, Tony Baker. Tony is coming back to Vulcan to make y’all laugh on June 20-22, 2025.
We are pulling back to be very selective because that was best for us and our reputation and for all of you.
We are very proud of the work we did and continue to bring to Austin and Vulcan.
We brought comedy back to Austin. We brought comedy to Vulcan. That I am extremely proud of.
So, to make this decision to pull back on everything we helped build, even as a small part, it really hurts. Because we are in this for the love of the game. Not the money. It takes money to keep investing in comedy.
Don’t get me wrong, Rogan, Ron, Tony, Redban, and all the great comedians who have moved to Austin have made it what it is today. Big Laugh Comedy played a very small part in it.
Again, I’m very proud. This is a very hard decision to make. But an important one to do.
What’s Next?
Since we are pulling back on producing shows in Austin. It allows us to get back to our roots.
To get back to the love of the game. To make you laugh and help comedians grow.
Here is how we are going to do that:
Focus on Fort Worth. That is our baby now. Growing that location will springboard our plans for the future. And we have some great plans for the place. Some big announcements are coming soon.
Help the people of Austin continue to laugh.
Produce more comedy content online - video and written.
For Austin, we aren’t going anywhere.
We are just adapting to the current situation.
That’s why we are excited to ANNOUNCE: from now on, you will be able to get all the upcoming comedy shows in Austin, TX located on our website.
Yes, all the places. From the small box rooms that seat 50 people like Black Rabbit Comedy Club, Rozco’s Comedy Club and East Austin Comedy Club.
To the heavy hitting clubs like The Comedy Mothership, Cap City, and the Creek and The Cave.
To the theaters and arena.
You won’t be able to buy tickets on our website, but you will be able to click through to the venues to purchase tickets. All the shows will be centrally located on our website.
We’ll have a calendar of ALL the comedy shows in Austin, TX.
Plus, the emails you will be receiving from now on will come out weekly highlighting the best upcoming comedy shows
To be clear, we are not getting paid by any clubs for doing this. We are doing this for YOU. For the love of the game.
Even though we will not be producing shows, we can still bring you the laughs.
That’s our mission. You deserve to laugh. We’re here to help.
Since we’ll be investing time and resources into making this happen for you, the only thing we ask from you is to SHARE this with other people.
Share the site. Share the VIP list. Send them to the sign up page so they can get updated on all the upcoming comedy shows.
Here’s the link - https://www.blcomedy.com/submissions/get-updates-on-austin-comedy-shows