Superfly Productions and A.C. Entertainment, in partnership with U.S. Cellular®, are excited to confirm the dates for the inaugural Bonnaroo College Comedy Tour. The tour features a rotating cast of Bonnaroo alumni acts including Amy Schumer, Pete Holmes, Kumail Nanjiani and Reggie Watts and begins April 1st at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana.
In the last seven years, the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival has grown to become an unrivaled destination for the best comedy talent in the country. The festival has featured stars such as Chris Rock, Lewis Black, David Cross, Jimmy Fallon, Dave Attel, Zach Galifianakis and Louis CK, and has become the launching pad for rising talent including Flight of the Concords, Demetri Martin, Aziz Ansari, Mike Birbiglia and Nick Kroll, among many others. The recent announcement of the 2010 comedy lineup, which features Conan O’Brien – both as emcee of the festival’s “Which Stage” as well as a performer in the Comedy Theatre – Margaret Cho, and Jeffrey Ross Roasting Bonnaroo, has further cemented Bonnaroo as one of the top comedy events in the nation.
As a natural extension of their creative and clever programming, festival organizers created the Bonnaroo College Comedy Tour to extend the reach of its comedy brand to deliver the best in up-and-coming comedy talent to the college audience. The inaugural tour features Bonnaroo alumni who are on the cusp of mainstream popularity. Amy Schumer is one of the fastest rising comics on the scene today. When she appeared on Ellen DeGeneres’ show, Ellen said, “Amy is one of my favorites. I expect to see big things from this girl.” Pete Holmes is a nationally touring standup comedian, actor, improviser, writer and cartoonist. He has appeared on VH1’s "Best Week Ever,” and his cartoons have appeared in various magazines, most notably The New Yorker. Kumail Nanjiani was recently profiled in The New York Times and was featured in New York Magazine’s “10 Comedians That Funny People Find Funny.” He is writing a pilot loosely based on his life for NBC and Conaco. Reggie Watts was featured in Esquire’s “Best & Brightest: New Geniuses Whose Ideas Will Change the World.” Time Out London said “there is no one out there like Reggie Watts,” and continued, “Exploiting a jaw-dropping vocal range, Reggie covers everything from ancient history and racism to pop-culture, in a heady mix of improvised music, comedy and social insight. This guy has to be seen to be believed. Truly awesome!”
“The Comedy Theatre is such an incredibly popular attraction at the festival each year, and it’s the college demographic that dominates the makeup of the audience,” said Superfly’s Rick Farman. “With such high demand, we figured it made sense to take our unique comedy brand on the road to the campuses where our greatest support lies. We are excited to partner with U.S. Cellular in this endeavor.”
U.S. Cellular and Bonnaroo are giving students the chance to win a “Total Access” VIP trip to the 2010 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, providing winners with airfare to Nashville, Tenn., private accommodations on a luxury rock ‘n’ roll tour bus, three gourmet meals a day, Main Stage viewing from a private viewing deck, and exclusive VIP access throughout the festival.
U.S. Cellular is also encouraging college students who are aspiring comedians to upload a short routine for a chance to see and be seen. Students can visit http://www.getusc.com/bonnaroo for these opportunities, and to find information on meeting the comedians in local U.S. Cellular retailers and photos from the tour.
“We are thrilled to partner with Bonnaroo for their comedy tour and share this unique comedic experience with campuses nationwide,” said Jennifer Eiselein, Director of Mass Communicatons at U.S. Cellular. “We’re in the business of connecting people and we love supporting great events that bring people together to have a good time.”
The initial dates for the Bonnaroo Comedy Tour are below:
Thurs. April 1 – University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana
Fri. April 16 – University of Wisconsin – Madison
Sat. April 17 – Iowa State University
Mon. April 19 – Drake University
Tues. April 27 – University of N. Carolina at Chapel Hill
Thurs. April 29 – Truman State
Fri. April 30 – University of Wisconsin, Platteville
More dates to be announced soon!
About Bonnaroo:
Bonnaroo was conceived in 2002 and continues to make a strong impact on the American music industry. It has served as a launching pad for such popular artists as Kings of Leon, Norah Jones, Jack Johnson, Robert Randolph, My Morning Jacket, Ray Lamontagne, Matisyahu, and many others. A creative and cultural mega-success, Bonnaroo has also featured a staggeringly diverse range of world-class acts such as Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Metallica, Neil Young, Radiohead, Willie Nelson, The Police, Pearl Jam, Tom Petty, Tool, Wilco, Nine Inch Nails, Merle Haggard, The Dave Matthews Band, James Brown, The White Stripes, The Dead, Regina Spektor, Bon Iver, Snoop Dogg, David Byrne, Widespread Panic, Death Cab For Cutie, Al Green, Elvis Costello, Amadou and Mariam, Beck, Against Me!, The Black Crowes, Alison Krauss, Bright Eyes, Bonnie Raitt, Steve Earle, Jurassic 5, Modest Mouse, The Mars Volta, Common, Burning Spear, the Flaming Lips, among so many others.
The festival is also starting to make quite an impact on the comedy industry as well, as it has featured some of today’s best comedians working today. From Chris Rock, Jimmy Fallon, Lewis Black, Aziz Ansari, John Oliver, Flight of the Concords, David Cross and Fred Armisen to Jim Norton, Patton Oswalt, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, Zach Galifianakis, Janeane Garofalo and Brian Posehn, Bonnaroo is considered to be an essential play in any comedian’s touring plans.
About U.S. Cellular:
The 9,000 associates of U.S. Cellular believe a wireless phone enhances people’s lives and a wireless company should be in the business of bringing people together. U.S. Cellular has a wide range of monthly plans, including those with unlimited nationwide calling, unlimited free incoming calls and options to prepay. The company made the commitment to invest more than $4.5 million in teachers and schools during 2009 and 2010. Based in Chicago, U.S. Cellular is the nation’s sixth-largest wireless carrier, serving 6.2 million customers across the country. To learn more about the company visit one of its retail stores or uscellular.com. You can also check out U.S. Cellular on Facebook.
