Shawn Barnes did his first set while going to SUNY Oneonta back in the early 2010s and occasionally came back to stand-up. It wasn't until an established comedian moved upstairs that he decided to give it a real go. Now he's working all over Ne...

Matt Drufke has been doing stand-up in and around Chicago for about 20 years. He's one of a nine-person team behind the Still Not Friday show in Aurora, Ill., that just celebrated its 10th anniversary. He was able to book Kyle Kinane for that s...

Isaac Kozell started doing stand-up in Pittsburgh about 14 years ago. He was living in Wheeling, W. Va., but had to chase the stage elsewhere. He worked in marketing and fixed up houses on the side, something he'd learned as a kid. Once his nei...

Tommy Cook started doing stand-up outside of Detroit about 2 1/2 years ago. He grew up on a steady diet of musicals, thanks to his grandparents. He played in the marching and concert bands in high school and became the lead singer of Granola Ad...

Conor McCann only started doing stand-up in July of 2024. He entered the Rochester's Funniest Person contest two weeks after his first open mic and took second place. He came back this year and won the title. A former musician from the Cold Spr...