A Tour of Comedy Open Mics in Charlotte

My introduction to the Charlotte comedy scene came a couple of years ago when my wife suggested we check out an open mic comedy night at the Common Market in South End. It sounded like a cheap, fun evening of entertainment — no cover charge and a slew of comics on the roster. 

I always considered myself to be naturally funny but I never thought I could be intentionally funny … until I heard the first few comics that night and thought, “I can do this.” 

Inspired by that night in South End, I soon went from spectator to participant, trying my hand by performing at several open mic nights in town. 

I’ve found during my time exploring the local open mics that you never really know what you’re walking into at any given venue. Some nights, the audience mostly comprises other comics waiting for their turn while others attract a nice crowd, which allows you to get a better idea whether your stuff is hitting — or not. 

I’ve compiled a chronological list of open mics around the city to help any folks who are looking for a place and time to take the stage and work out material, all while gathering insight from the veterans of Charlotte stand-up who have kept the scene alive by organizing and hosting these weekly events over the years. 

Friday: Common Market South End

235 W Tremont Ave.; sign-ups begin at 7 p.m., show starts at 7:30

Back at the scene where it all started — where I performed my first set (if you could call it that) about two months after attending my first open mic there. 

Jacob Manlucu has been hosting here for two years. I spoke with Philip Walker, who was subbing for Manlucu on the night I was there. Walker took umbrage to the term “open mic comic,” which he said carries negative connotations similar to “rookie” or “newb” in other contexts. 

“I’ve heard being called an ‘open mic comic’ as derogatory,” he said. “We all have to start somewhere.”

Nathan Baker, named Best Comedian in Charlotte by Queen City Nerve readers in our 2024 Best in the Nest, calls this the best comedy-only open mic in town. 

Read more: Skylar Schock Uses Comedy to Open a Door to Mental Health

I performed here twice during the period I was working on this story with mixed results. Waiting to go on can be taxing; my visit on June 20 found me at 27th on the list, leaving friends who came to see me waiting until nearly 10 p.m. before I performed. 

While a fear of public speaking is thought to be the most common phobia — beating out death, spiders and heights — I’ve never had such a fear. I credit that to my 15 years hosting a weekend sports radio show in Chicago and a plethora of experience with public speaking. Stand-up comedy, however, is a whole other animal, and it’s one of the hardest things I have ever done. 

You are so vulnerable onstage. When a line you thought was funny only attracts silence it’s almost like a personal attack, placing not only your sense of humor into question but your sense of self. I appreciate the fortitude it takes for the regulars on this circuit to keep coming back. 

Saturday: Dish 

1220 Thomas Ave.; first and third Saturdays; sign-ups start at 9:30 p.m., show starts at 10

Co-hosted by Mitchell Schultz and Andrew Glontz, I learned about this event the way many people learn about open mics: word of mouth, as Schultz approached me at another club to tell me about it.

Having already visited several clubs by the time I made my way to Dish, I noticed their lineup of comics was more varied. There were some familiar faces plus a nice sprinkling of voices I hadn’t heard before, which can be welcoming after hearing the same jokes so many times. 

Schultz said he was struggling with depression before starting comedy. He got sober five years ago and, three years into that journey, thought, “Why not give it a shot?” He wasn’t afraid to get up and tell his story because he had already been sharing it at meetings he attended. 

There was one major difference, however.  

“Most of the people give you the benefit of the doubt in a recovery meeting,” he said. In most comedy rooms, you have to work harder for it. 

He likened stand-up comedy to skateboarding, something he grew up doing. 

“There’s an analogy there about falling, getting up and trying and trying again.” 

Speaking of falling, or failing, I opened my Dish set with, “I bombed the last time I did standup, so I thought I would give this a try (laying on the ground). Am I funny yet?” 

Sunday: The Royal Tot 

933 Louise Ave., Suite 350; every other Sunday; sign-ups start at 6:30 p.m., show starts at 7 p.m.

This show is co-hosted by Kaya Allyn and Angie Schultz. A local success story who became obsessed with watching standup during COVID, Allyn noticed after a year of performing that there weren’t many open mics around. She figured she’d be the change she wanted to see and cast out a bunch of nets to different spots. Three venues bit. 

As the founder of Bold & Beautiful Comedy, Allyn has hosted all around Charlotte and hosts showcases at the Carolina Beer Temple in Matthews and the Durty Bull in Gastonia. Hosting a show at Camp North End produced by local artist Carla Aaron-Lopez, aka King Carla, was one of the first times she got paid decent money, making $200 for 15 minutes of work.

She recently found herself on a stage unlike any comedy show she’d ever played when she emceed the No Kings protest in Uptown. 

Read more: Four Women of Charlotte Comedy Reflect on the Scene (2022)

I showed up to Royal Tot on one of those nights when it was more comics than audience members, so for most of the night it was as quiet as a funeral parlor. It had been livelier on a previous visit some months earlier. 

Tot was also the place that elicited the biggest laughs during my two weeks plus of clubbing for this story. A comic named Mike Walters was bombing when he told the audience to hold on a second, checking a note he pulled out of his pocket. With what sounded like words of encouragement to himself, he read, “Hang in there.” 

The room went hysterical for a bit before he continued. I thought he would have stopped on that high note, with nowhere to go but back down, but with a self-deprecating remark, “This is going good,” he brought the house down once more and the crowd was back on his side. 

Monday: Triple C Brewery 

2900 Griffith St.; every other Monday; sign-ups start at 7 p.m., show starts at 7:30

This show is another one run by the busy Allyn, who chatted with me about the risk-reward situation that comes with telling edgy jokes. It’s great when something hits, but if something offends someone and they go to the boss, it could be your last time on the stage. 

Quoting Andy Warhol, Allyn said, “Art is getting away with it. In comedy, if you get away with it, it was funny.” 

Allyn insisted that she isn’t bothered when she doesn’t get laughs. It’s just part of the deal, she said, which elicited an incredulous response from another local comic, Master Nate, who was part of the conversation. 

“What kind of a question is that?” Nate asked. “It always feels bad to not get laughs.” 

I asked if they ever wonder, “What the fuck am I doing this for” after a run of bombing. 

“You always go, ‘Why am I doing it and why am I worth listening to?’” Nate responded. 

Allyn chimed in, “I don’t think there’s a comic alive that hasn’t looked themselves in the mirror and been like, ‘Why the fuck are you still doing this?’” 

It’s the positive responses that keep them going. “If you have a really good night, that will sustain you for two weeks easily,” said Allyn. 

“It’s a drug,” added Nate.  

One of Allyn’s favorite Triple C nights is Heckle Night, which runs bi-monthly. It offers comics an outlet to air the frustrations that sometimes develop from hanging out together, which would have come in handy one night at another club when things got heated. 

Monday: The Evening Muse

3227 N. Davidson St.; most Monday nights; doors at 7 p.m., sign-ups at 7:15, show starts at 7:30 

Hosted by Erik Button of Dollar $igns, Find Your Muse Open Mic takes place nearly every Monday and features creatives of all types — but only a max of five comics per week. It’s the only open mic that charges a cover ($5) and everyone pays, including performers. 

The night I attended, the only comedian signed up was Matt Barrentine. He was disappointed at the turnout, though he said it’s a good place to perform. 

Nathan Baker later described Find Your Muse to me as a great room full of receptive musicians who have never heard the jokes and appreciate art of any kind. Comics need to sign up ahead of showtime by contacting Evan Pittfield at the Charlotte Laughs Tonight Facebook page. 

While there weren’t many laughs on the night I attended, it was an excellent night of entertainment from the musicians nonetheless. 

Tuesday: Starlight at 22nd

422 E. 22nd St.; sign-ups at 7 p.m., show starts at 7:30 

Kayla Kandi has been hosting Starlight’s variety open mic since December 2024. This open mic works a little differently than many others around town, because regardless of when you sign up, you’re at the whims of a drawing that decides your place in the lineup. I was near the bottom of the list, so it was about 10:45 p.m. by the time I finally stepped up to the mic.

It was a great crowd for much of the show, but by the time I got on stage there were only a few stragglers left — stragglers who didn’t find my brand of comedy very funny. If the silence wasn’t deafening, the stone-cold looks on some of their faces got the message across. 

Things have been going much better for Kandi. Chaunté Wayans (yes, those Wayans) caught a show of hers and liked what she saw, asking Kandi to join her on tour. She’s already hit D.C. and when we spoke was scheduled to perform in Chicago at the end of June and New York in July. Locally, she’s been hosting shows at The Comedy Club at Duckworth’s. 

Read more: The Comedy Club at Duckworth’s Fills a Gap in the Local Scene

Kandi considers open mic to be a sort of stand-up practice — a way to get your stuff to a level where you’re ready to step in front of a crowd that actually paid to laugh at your jokes. Like me, she attended a comedy event one night and left thinking, “I can do that.” She got her opportunity and the rest is history in the making. 

Tuesday: Two Buck Saloon 

1113 Hawthorne Lane; sign-ups at 8:30 p.m., show starts 9 p.m.

Matt Hammy has been hosting since March 2024. A few people told me I needed to check it out and they did not steer me wrong.  

I was a watcher on the evening I visited Two Buck in the Belmont neighborhood, where I saw much of the usual crowd and had a chat with Bob Maier, who started doing open mics in 2012 after taking a stand-up class at The Comedy Zone. 

Even after all those years, Maier said he still gets nervous before he hits the stage.

“One of my teachers said, ‘That’s not nerves, that’s excitement,’” he recalled. “If you walk up there like nothing’s happened, nothing’s going to happen.” 

Another face in the crowd was local singer-songwriter Val Merza, a renowned local singer/songwriter who’s also a supporter of the local comedy scene. She’s had comic Austin Sibai open some shows for her around Charlotte. 

Wednesday: Crown Station 

3629 N. Davidson St.; sign-ups at 8 p.m., show starts at 8:30 

Hank Silver is the DJ at the Crown mic and has been there since November of 2020, when he started doing comedy, though the show had already been active for years before then. Caleb Troxell was hosting on the night I stopped by. 

Silver said it’s the only open mic since COVID that survives no matter what the outlook is comedy-wise or audience-wise, which was sparse this evening. He described it as a mecca for local comics. According to Silver, if you can bomb here you won’t be nervous about bombing anywhere else. 

Read more: Crown Station Serves as an Incubator for Charlotte’s Underground Comics (2018)

What’s tough for comics when there isn’t much of an audience is the payoff. It’s a difficult existence, with no guarantee of success, and often the only reward is receiving a smattering of laughs. 

That’s what keeps comic Julie Tuggle coming back: “When something hits, that’s exciting for me. It really is a tremendous buzz.” 

Tuggle had a background in acting and theatre before taking on comedy. She had an interesting take comparing comedy to those mediums: “In acting, you have a fourth wall, but in

comedy, you’re more naked onstage and you get immediate feedback that you don’t get from acting.” 

Thursday: Stu’s Barrel House 

3215 N. Davidson St.; every Thursday; signs-ups at 7 p.m.; show starts at 8

Launched just a few months ago, Gayle Murray hosts this months-old show. The first time I attended was a fun climate — not so much the second time. That’s to be expected, as most venues can run hot or cold depending on when you drop in.

Carlos Valencia, who was hosting in place of Murray the second time I attended, apologized for the dead crowd, assuring me it’s not always like that. A lot of comedy is born of pain and heartache, which led to Valencia’s start 20 years ago at a time in his life when he was depressed and thought, “Fuck it, let’s do this, how much worse can it get?” 

Valencia described the difficulty of making a living doing stand-up, saying he would put expenses on credit cards to fund it, an unsustainable lifestyle that finally ended about 10 years in when he finally started breaking even. 

He explained his thought process, including the reality that he would sometimes take gigs where he wasn’t really making money because that’s just what you have to do to get to the next level. 

“Nobody ever makes a living just doing local shows,” he said. “The only way is to go on the road.” As I’m writing this, Valencia is touring with the legendary Doug Stanhope, so he’s worth listening to. 

It can be exhausting going out night after night to the local venues where you’ll hang out sometimes for hours just to get your 4-5 minutes on the mic. I admire the drive and intention it takes to work at the craft in the hopes that maybe, one day, you’ll break out of the local scene. In the meantime, the laughs will carry you through to the next week.  

There are other open mics around town and the surrounding area. For more leads, check out Facebook groups like Charlotte Comedy Scene.