April 27, 2022

Side Stage Comedy wraps up spring season with Philly-native Erik Terrell this weekend

Summer lineup of comedy shows will feature Doug Smith and Turner Sparks

By PhillyVoice Staff

Eric Schaeffer/For Side Stage Comedy

As more comedy shows begin to pop up around Philadelphia, Old City locals won’t have to travel very far to get their laughs. Side Stage Comedy, a monthly, Philly-based showcase featuring comics from all over the Philadelphia and New York area, is gearing up for their summer lineup of shows.

Created and run by Jared Kieth, Rob Brooks and Nick Grinups, Side Stage currently operates out of Khyber Pass Pub in Old City, in partnership with Khyber and DVT Entertainment. While the venue typically hosts live bands in their 2nd floor performance hall, the introduction of standup comedy has been met with strong and still-rising turnouts.

The spring shows will wrap up this Saturday, April 30, with headliner and Erik Terrell. Named one of Variety’s “Comics to Watch” in 2019 and fresh off the release of his debut comedy special “LIVE at Helium Comedy Club,” Erik is a Philly native who was a finalist at the New York’s Funniest Competition at the New York Comedy Festival at Carolines on Broadway, where he will be headlining this June.

Summer shows will kick off on June 18 starting with headliner Doug Smith. A New York comic, Doug has appeared on “CONAN,” “The Late Late Show with James Corden,” Kevin Hart’s LOL Network, and “This Is Not Happening” on Comedy Central. He also starred in the Comedy Central mini-mock “Brooklyn Ball Barbers,” which has since become their most-viewed-video of all time. Doug has been featured at numerous comedy festivals including Oddball, Bridgetown, and Just for Laughs. His debut standup album, “Barely Regal,” is available now on 800 Pound Gorilla Records.

Moving further into summer, comedian Turner Sparks will also be visiting from New York. “Turner Sparks Live From the Friars Club” was released in September 2019 and went to #2 on the iTunes Top 200 Comedy charts. Additionally, his international comedy podcast, “Lost in America,” broke through to a larger audience and has since gone to #1 in Armenia, Mongolia, Nepal, Chile, Czech Republic, Peru and Pakistan on iTunes Stand-Up Comedy charts. He also just returned from The Melbourne Comedy Festival in Australia and is releasing his new special, "Double Happiness," this summer.

Tickets for all three shows are currently available on Eventbrite.