Good Neighbor Podcast: TN-WNC-SWVA

EP# 326: From RV Adventures to Laughter: The Blue Ridge Comedy Club Story

• Skip Mauney & Sarah Morgan • Episode 326

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Sarah Morgan never planned to own a comedy club. When the pandemic derailed her husband Sean Carter's comedy tour, the couple found themselves stuck in Bristol, Tennessee with nothing but an RV and an unexpected opportunity. Now co-owners of Blue Ridge Comedy Club, they've created a thriving comedy scene that's changing how the Tri-Cities experiences stand-up.

Located just off Volunteer Parkway at 560 English Street, their intimate 150-seat venue showcases national touring comics while maintaining surprisingly affordable prices. Most weekend headliner shows cost just $20, with special performances occasionally starting at $25. More budget-conscious comedy fans can enjoy $10 shows or attend the always-free Wednesday open mic nights. The club strikes a perfect balance between professional entertainment and community accessibility.

Beyond performances, Blue Ridge Comedy Club serves as a cultural hub where comedy enthusiasts can take stand-up classes, join improv groups, or simply enjoy the unique atmosphere. The bar staff consists primarily of comedians, creating memorable interactions for patrons. As Sarah explains, experiencing live comedy in a dedicated club creates an energy entirely different from watching comedy on television or in larger venues. The intimate setting fosters connections between performers and audience members, though she reassures potential visitors that comics are instructed not to "pick on" guests. For anyone curious about the Bristol comedy scene or looking for a fresh entertainment option, check out their upcoming shows at blueridgecomedy.com or connect through their responsive Facebook and Instagram pages. Ready to experience the difference of live comedy in an intimate setting? The Blue Ridge Comedy Club welcomes you to join their growing community of laughter.

Speaker 1:

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Skip Monty.

Speaker 2:

Well, hello everyone and welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. So I am very excited today because we have a very special guest in our studio for the first time and if you're like me and you're a big fan of comedy clubs and comedy period, I think you'll be just as excited as I am because today I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, Ms Sarah Morgan, who is co-owner of the Blue Ridge Comedy Club. Sarah, welcome to the show.

Speaker 3:

Thanks for having me.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely. We're thrilled to have you. Like I said, I am a big fan of comedy clubs and I'm very excited to learn all about you guys and what you do. So, if you don't mind, why don't you kick us off by telling us about the Blue Ridge Comedy Club?

Speaker 3:

Sure. So we are located in Bristol, tennessee. We're right off Volunteer Parkway on English Street. We are about 150 seat venue and we bring in comics from all over the country on the weekends to do headlining shows. We run stand up classes, we have an improv group that practices together, we have open mics. We also do private and corporate events so kind of a little bit of everything, but the weekend shows are definitely something that you would want to check out. We've got some amazing comics that are kind of on their way up. Lots of people that have done, you know, late night and that sort of thing, but haven't quite hit that like Netflix special level just yet.

Speaker 2:

Very cool. Now you said, you guys are on State Street or right off State Street.

Speaker 3:

We're right off on to Parkway. So we actually got our start on State Street. We were in the 620 building and then we moved into a larger venue about a year and a half ago. So now we're at 560 English Street, which is right on the corner of Melrose and Volunteer Parkway 560 English.

Speaker 2:

you said Awesome, very cool, and that's probably. That's not very far from state street, is it?

Speaker 3:

no, not at all. It's about a 10 minute walk if you're walking slow very cool, very cool.

Speaker 2:

Good to know. Well, sarah, uh, tell us about your journey. How did you end up being the owner of a of a comedy club?

Speaker 3:

yeah, it's kind of an interesting story. Um, so my husband, sean Carter, and I own the club together and the majority owner, so that's why I'm here speaking for the club. But he has been a professional comic for probably about 20 years now. He got started in Boston.

Speaker 3:

I'm a Bristol native but I had been living in Boston for about 16 years when we met, had gotten married, and I was kind of helping him just kind of organize and run the shows that he was doing in Boston. So he does stand-up comedy professionally but he's also been producing shows for a long time. He's also been producing shows for a long time. We had moved into an RV to travel around the country and he was going to tour and do comedy and I was going to work remotely I work in software, so kind of an easy thing to do remotely and then the pandemic happened and everything shut down and all of his dates were canceled and we happened to be in Bristol visiting my family and because we had sold everything we owned and just had our camper, we ended up living with them and then after a little while we decided we would stay here and kind of try to breathe some life into comedy in the Tri-Cities. So that is how we ended up here.

Speaker 2:

Awesome. Well, that's so cool. Bristol's a very cool town period. You know there's so many, so many very cool things. I've interviewed tons of folks in Bristol and love to come, come visit and just walk around check everything out. So unfortunately I've not been able to check you guys out, but I'm going to, cause I love comedy. So what are some myths or misconceptions in the comedy business Can you think of?

Speaker 3:

any, I think. So One big thing, just from the audience, is the idea that comics are just kind of riffing when they're on stage. These people are working the same material over and over and over. So that's why you know, if you catch the same comic at the open mic on Wednesday and then you see them on a show on the weekend, you're going to see a lot of the same material. I think the comics that make it feel like they're just kind of having a conversation with the audience are the ones that are really, you know, kind of mastering the art of it, because it should feel kind of like off the cuff, but it's really, it's really not. You know, they've spent a lot of time writing and practicing and that kind of thing.

Speaker 2:

Wow. Well, what about like and I can't think of the guy's name it's really good at he walks in and sits down on a stool and says, hey, I'm going to ask you guys questions and we'll go, we'll just go from there. Is that something that's rehearsed? Like he has subject matter, I guess, in mind.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I'm not sure who exactly you're referring to, but crowd work is definitely a skill and a talent because you have to be able to sort of control the crowd and like full disclosure. I'm not a comic, I've just listened to many comics. I work more behind the scenes, but it's something where you want to encourage people to respond to you but then keep it on the rails because your audience can get really chatty really quickly and you don't want them to take over the show. So we kind of encourage our newer comics to stay away from too much crowd work. It's something that you want to practice and kind of like master, before you try to do it at your audience and sort of run away from you.

Speaker 2:

Makes sense. So obviously your job has to be fun, I would think. But when you're not at work and not at the club, what do you like to do for fun outside of that?

Speaker 3:

We have a four year old daughter, so we spend a lot of time just kind of, you know, running around with her. We do a lot of like board games and family hikes. We try to spend a lot of time outside. She's got a lot of energy so she keeps us busy. We have a crazy dog, so that's the four of us. We're just trying to burn energy off the two younger ones as much as possible.

Speaker 2:

I totally get it. I've got five kids, although they're all mostly grown now, but I do have a crazy dog too, so that that I totally understand. Well, let's switch gears for just a second. Can you describe a hardship or a life challenge that you've overcome and how it made you stronger in the end, Anything come to mind.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I mean, I think the biggest kind of wrench that's been thrown in our plans was really, you know, the pandemic kind of shutting down our plan to be on the road. We never really had any intention of opening a club. As much as we loved running shows, it wasn't where our experience was. We both had a little bit of experience in the service industry, but not as like an owner operator. But there was just not a lot of comedy happening here and I really wanted my husband to love my hometown.

Speaker 3:

So we kind of decided we would just try to make it happen and it, you know it was not easy to get something new up and running. You know people didn't really know what we were doing, what the you know what to expect when they came running. You know people didn't really know what we were doing, what the you know what to expect when they came in. Working with the different city departments was a little bit of a challenge because people just aren't as familiar with, like, the concept of a comedy club here. So you know we learned a lot along the way.

Speaker 2:

Very cool. Now tell me what the experience is like as far as what price range is for different shows. I'm sure it's different depending on who you're going to see coming in February.

Speaker 3:

He's a pretty hot comic. Right now His tickets, I believe, started $25. We try to keep it pretty accessible. We don't want to price anybody out of getting to see some of these touring comics. Our typical weekend shows are $20. We have a VIP section that's a little more expensive, but we try to keep it pretty affordable. We do some shows that are more like 10 bucks. Our open mic is always free on Wednesdays and audiences encouraged to come and watch, and we love to see new people get up on stage. So we try to, you know, make it pretty accessible for everybody.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, a lot of just people walking in off the street for open mic.

Speaker 3:

I think a lot of people will come thinking they're going to sign up and then get cold feet and kind of watch it a couple of times before they get up there. So you know, nobody yeah, I don't know if anybody's ever just kind of spur of the moment. There's a lot of like people checking it off their bucket list. Same with the comedy classes. You know, it's a good way to kind of get up our stage fright and get comfortable speaking in front of a group and that sort of thing, with a little bit of a framework around it.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely Well, do you guys serve food and drinks?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, we have a full bar with beer, wine, soda, seltzer, non-alcoholic options. We've got sort of a limited kitchen. We have kind of just snack food mozzarella sticks, hot dogs, nachos, that sort of thing. Popcorn is a big hit because it's easy. Our bar is staffed primarily by comics, so if you come in and grab a drink, you're talking to somebody who may be on the show, which is kind of fun.

Speaker 2:

Oh, that's very cool, very cool. Well, sarah, it sounds fun. Oh, that's very cool, very cool. Well, if, sarah, it sounds intriguing. I love comedy clubs. I'm definitely going to check you guys out, but if you could think of one thing you would like our listeners and viewers to remember about the Blue Ridge Comedy Club, what would that be?

Speaker 3:

I think just that we really want to be a kind of community hub. So if you're interested in comedy, if you've been watching it on TV, just know that live comedy is a whole different experience and comedy in a comedy club is going to be different than comedy, you know, in a bar or you know, in a larger venue. It's a really intimate, fun experience with a lot of good energy. So we really, you know, love people to come check it out, whether it's the open mic or one of our headliner shows.

Speaker 2:

I don't know what it is, but I visited quite a few comedy clubs over the years and and somehow, you know, I get pulled into something. You're usually like, you know somebody points at me from behind me or something you know anyway, so that's important to people to know. I guess that you might get pulled into the comedy, so be prepared for that we do keep it.

Speaker 3:

we keep it friendly. So we do encourage our comics not to pick on anyone. We don't want people, you know, afraid of getting being called on during the show.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, Very cool. Well, if, uh, for those of us like me that are very interested, want to come check you guys out, how can we learn more and know what shows are coming up?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, the best way to find out what's coming up is our website. It's um blueridgecomedycom, so really easy to remember. We're also on Facebook and Instagram. Um, we're super responsive to social media messages and email. That's the best way to get us because, you know, my husband and I kind of operate the club just the two of us and we both do work in addition to running the club, so we're kind of doing a bunch of stuff at the same time. So definitely, you know, hit us up on on Facebook or email if you have any questions.

Speaker 2:

Awesome, very good. Well, sarah, I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed talking with you and learning all about the Blue Ridge Comedy Club and I'm excited to come check you guys out and, moving forward, wish you and your husband and your comics and clientele all the best.

Speaker 3:

Thanks so much. We'll look forward to seeing you at the club. All right, awesome.

Speaker 2:

And maybe we seeing you at the club All right, awesome, and maybe we can have you back sometime.

Speaker 3:

Would love to Thanks Skip.

Speaker 2:

All right, thanks so much.

Speaker 1:

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnptry-citiescom. That's gnptry-citiescom. That's GNPtry-Citiescom, or call 423-719-5873.