Industry

In an effort to provide a more meaningful experience for comedians, we’ve invited some of our favorite comedy bookers, producers, and club owners from around the Southeast to attend the festival as Industry representatives.

They’ve been invited to attend the shows, mingle with featured performers, and just generally stress out the comics. An Industry Panel, open to festival performers and local comedians, will also be held on Saturday during the fest.

Aimee Elfers

Aimee is a long time and under-celebrated servant and cornerstone of the NC and Wilmington comedy scenes. Not only is she the co-owner and general manager of Dead Crow Comedy Club in Wilmington, NC, she has been its lifeblood and driving force all the way back to its origins as Nutt St Comedy.

Jason Hedden

Jason is a Florida based comedian and producer, and the owner of Panama City Comedy. As a producer, he has presented hundreds of comedians including Henry Cho, Liz Miele, Rory Scovel, Sean Patton, Dusty Slay and Kevin Nealon.

Josh Bates

Josh is not only an accomplished stand-up comedian (his album debuted at #1 on the iTunes Comedy charts), he is the owner, founder, and manager of Wits End Comedy Club and Lounge in Charleston, SC.

Jeremy Essig

Jeremy Essig is the Executive Director of Rhizome Comedy - a production company with offices in Raleigh and Atlanta.

A Grammy voter and member of the Recording Industry of America, Essig has produced over 200 comedy albums since 2018, including more than 30 that reached #1 on the iTunes Charts and Billboard top 10.  Additionally, Essig has done audio work for Netflix and the Tribeca Film Festival.

Since starting Rhizome in 2023, Essig has produced over 25 comedy specials in addition a dozen more specials he worked on personally as a freelance director.  Rhizome also runs monthly shows in Raleigh (Superbloom), Atlanta (Moonfly), New York (Foxglove) and Richmond (Spore) that will be developed into their own video series in 2025.

Shawn Carter

Shawn Carter, also a veteran comedian (his album debuted at #1 on iTunes in the comedy category and was included in the Billboard top 10 in comedy albums on its release), is the owner and manager of Blue Ridge Comedy Club in Bristol, TN.