Austin Moontower Comedy Festival Headliners Announced, Tickets Go On Sale

AUSTIN, TX — Tickets for the upcoming Moontower Comedy Festival produced by Paramount Theater went on sale Friday, with a trio of headliners disclosed.

The 7th annual festival is scheduled from April 18-21, 2018, will feature "Weird Al" Yankovic, Mike Birbiglia and Tiffany Haddish as the headliners, organizers announced Friday. Three levels of admission badges went on sale Friday with early bird offers at 10 a.m. The three badges with differing levels of access include the Star, Warrior and Satellite versions.

Moontower Comedy Festival organizers said they will bring a diverse (and hilarious) mix of comedians and podcasts from across the country and beyond, as well as a lineup of impressive local and regional talent, including stand-up, sketch, and musical comedy performers. As in previous years, Moontower 2018 will stage headliner shows at the Paramount & Stateside Theaters, with additional stand-up acts performing at Cap City Comedy Club showcases at several walkable downtown venues.

"An impressive slate of talent is soon to be announced in the months ahead, but Moontower is thrilled to release four of this year’s featured comedians to kick things off," organizers wrote in a press advisory, detailing Yankovic's upcoming performance as part of his The Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour – a stripped-down, no-frills production scheduled to run through June.

"After his highly successful Mandatory World Tour (200 dates including the Hollywood Bowl and Radio City Music Hall), Yankovic decided that he wanted to take a break from the high-octane theatrics that he’s known for and go bare-bones – no costumes, no props, no video screens – just Al and his band of three decades hanging out on stage, playing music," organizers explained.

Opening the show each night of his tour, including at Moontower Comedy Festival, will be Al’s long-time friend (and UHF cast member), the legendary comedian and previous Moontower performer Emo Philips, organizers said.

Yankovic is the biggest-selling comedy recording artist of all time, with his most recent release Mandatory Fun (2014) was the first comedy album in history to debut at #1 on Billboard’s Top 200. In November 2017, Legacy Recordings will release the career-spanning Squeeze Box: The Complete Recordings of “Weird Al” Yankovic, including all 14 of his studio albums re-mastered for vinyl and CD format, plus a rarities album and 120-page book of photos from the archives, all housed in a replica of his signature accordion.

Moontower organizers also said they were excited to welcome back to the Paramount stage comedian, actor, and filmmaker Mike Birbiglia, whose "Thank God for Jokes" comedy special was released on Netflix in February. Birbiglia made his theatrical debut with Sleepwalk with Me, a film based on his one-man show he wrote, directed and starred in. He has also appeared in a number of films including Trainwreck and Don’t Think Twice, as well as HBO’s Girls and the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black.

Performing at Moontower for the first time (and sure to leave festival attendees in stitches, officials said) is comedian and actor Tiffany Haddish. Most recently, she starred in the popular 2017 comedy Girls Trip, and she played “Hi-C” in Keanu alongside Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key. Early on, she had a regular role in the Oprah Winfrey Network prime time soap opera, If Loving You Is Wrong, before being featured in the NBC comedy series The Carmichael Show.

Moontower Comedy Festival badges, including the multi-tiered Star badge ($350 early bird on Star Level 4) as well as the Warrior ($179 early bird) and Satellite ($79 early bird) badges, are on sale now at early bird rates and available for purchase at moontowercomedyfest.com. The badges range in access from premium seats at headlining shows with tons of perks to entry to 50+ shows in walkable venues around downtown, and there’s something for everyone. You can also purchase badges at the Paramount Theatre box office or by calling 512-474-1221.

Stay tuned for announcements on talent and more in the coming months, officials said. For up-to-date information on the festival, follow on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MoontowerComedy and Twitter @moontowercomedy.

>>> Top image via Shutterstock, show bill courtesy of Moontower Comedy Festival