Maryland Venues

Venues are grouped by area. If you have any pictures or reviews of a venue that you would like to submit, please e-mail them to chris@dcstandup.com.

There are lots of larger venues in Maryland that host occasional shows; The Hippodrome in Baltimore gets stand-up theater tours, for example. You'll hear the buzz if someone huge is coming through. They advertise big time.

You can also see listings for the District and Northern Virginia.

Arbutus

PENGUINS. 1065 Maiden Choice Lane, Arbutus, MD 21229. The only info we have on this venue (as of May 2007) is that they are running a Tuesday open mic for all kinds of performers, including comedians. MORE INFO WANTED: if you have pictures or reviews that you'd like to submit regarding the comedy night at this venue, send them to chris@dcstandup.com.

Baltimore

COMEDY FACTORY. 36 Light Street, Baltimore, MD 21202. The biggest regular comedy venue in Charm City, located above Burke's restaurant at the corner of Lombard and Light (just off the Inner Harbor. Shows usually run Thursday through Saturday and the club has been using a mix of local and national headliners. Also home to the Funniest Person in Baltimore Contest three summers running. Comedy Factory site.

HAMILTON ARTS COLLECTIVE. 35440 Harford Road (Side Entrance) Baltimore, MD 21214. From their site: "The Hamilton Arts Collective (the HAC) is a non-profit organization based in a space in the northeast section of Baltimore City, Maryland. Our mission is to increase opportunities for artists in Baltimore and enrich the arts community of Hamilton (a 'burb of Baltimore City)." That means they have theater space to rent! Various stand-ups and improv groups have used this venue in recent years. Their regular web site is having problems as of May 2007, so here's the MySpace page.

LUNA DEL SEA BISTRO. 300 West Pratt Street, Baltimore, MD 21201. "Throw Down Thursdays" began in February 2008 (shows at 8, tickets $10). Parham Productions Site.

Bethesda

HYATT REGENCY. 7400 Wisconsin Ave, Bethesda, MD 20814. Saturday night comedy started in April 2006 and is still going strong. Shows start at 8 and are in the various conference rooms downstairs (they're set up to create a club environment); they have been very well attended (it's a showcase format with mostly local talent). Here's the Standupcomedytogo.com site, and here's the Hyatt Web site.

BETHESDA COMEDY CLUB. 4735 Bethesda Ave., Bethesda, MD 20814. This comedy club was opened by Dan Nainan in late June 2008. There are weekend shows, with plans to expand to more nights of the week. comedy club site.

Clarksville

RIVER HILL SPORTS GRILLE. 6040 Daybreak Circle, Clarksville, MD. Sean Joxe is currently the guy organizing shows at this venue. This is a pretty heavy-duty sports bar -- you can read more about it at the River Hill site. MORE INFO WANTED: if you have pictures or reviews that you'd like to submit regarding the comedy night at this venue, send them to chris@dcstandup.com.

College Park

COLLEGE PERK COFFEEHOUSE. 9078 Baltimore Avenue, College Park, MD 20740. An open mic started here in May 2006. Whether it's still going we're not sure, but we'll keep the listing active (we've heard rumors of a gong). There's no mention of comedy on the College Perk site, but there's the link for ya. MORE INFO WANTED: if you have pictures or reviews that you'd like to submit regarding the comedy night at this venue, send them to chris@dcstandup.com.

EJ'S LANDING. 8601 Baltimore Ave., College Park, MD 20740 (in the College Park Inn). This place tries open mic comedy starting May 5, 2007, organized by Kaleidoscope Comedy. That's all the info we have on it for now. MORE INFO WANTED: if you have pictures or reviews that you'd like to submit regarding the comedy night at this venue, send them to chris@dcstandup.com.

Edgewater

BECKY'S. 48 South River Road, Edgewater, MD. Becky's was running weekend shows for a few months in 2006, but that petered out. The restaurant web site indicates (as of April 2007) that there's an open mic on Mondays, but we're not sure if that's the case. MORE INFO WANTED: if you have pictures or reviews that you'd like to submit regarding the comedy night at this venue, send them to chris@dcstandup.com.

Essex

COCO'S BISTRO. 409 Eastern Boulevard, Essex, MD 21221. Don't know much about this venue, but they are hosting a Thursday comedy night as of March 2008. Coco's Myspace. MORE INFO WANTED: if you have pictures or reviews that you'd like to submit regarding the comedy night at this venue, send them to chris@dcstandup.com.

Frederick

BENTZ STREET SPORTS BAR. 6 South Bentz Street, Frederick, Maryland 21704. As of April 2008, we believe they're doing sporadic shows -- they have mention of a recent visit by headliner T-Rexx from April 2 on their Web site. In the meantime here's the Bentz Street site. MORE INFO WANTED: if you have pictures or reviews that you'd like to submit regarding the comedy night at this venue, send them to chris@dcstandup.com.

Gambrills

IRISH CHANNEL RESTAURANT AND PUB. 1053 Maryland Rte 3 North, Gambrills, MD 21054. A monthly open mic started up at this venue in April 2008. Here's the Irish Channel Web site. MORE INFO WANTED: if you have pictures or reviews that you'd like to submit regarding the comedy night at this venue, send them to chris@dcstandup.com.

Hunt Valley

DAMON'S GRILL. 111 Shawan Rd. Hunt Valley, MD 21030. An open mic started here in June 2007, organized by T.B. Hudson. Don't know much about the venue yet, but you can see their web site right here. MORE INFO WANTED: if you have pictures or reviews that you'd like to submit regarding the comedy night at this venue, send them to chris@dcstandup.com.

Laurel

SIDE POCKETS. 904 Upper Fairlawn Ave., Laurel, MD 20707. The latest info on this venue is that they're running showcases on the first Friday of each month (starting Nov. 2). For bookings, professional comedians may contact Tim Mosley (tmdajuan@yahoo.com). Admission is $5 at the show starts at 9. Here's a MySpace page. MORE INFO WANTED: if you have pictures or reviews that you'd like to submit regarding the comedy night at this venue, send them to chris@dcstandup.com.

Parkville

MAGOOBY'S JOKE HOUSE. 9306 Harford Road, Parkville, MD 21234. This club used to be called Tracy's, but in summer 2007 it was sold, remodeled and renamed. The talent is a mix of local guys and traveling comedians. Here is the Magooby's Web site. Free parking, and the number for reservations is 410-356-1010. Normal ticket prices are $12, and showtimes are currently 8 and 10:15 Friday and Saturday. MORE INFO WANTED: if you have pictures or reviews that you'd like to submit regarding the comedy night at this venue, send them to chris@dcstandup.com.

Temple Hills

LAUGH OUT LOUD. 3285 Brinkley Road, Temple Hills, MD 20748. "DC's Only Urban Comedy Club" is located in Club Elite. As of April 2008, they are running an open mic on Thursday nights, and shows with touring headliners on Friday and Saturday Night. The full listing is available on the Laugh Out Loud Web site.

READING ROOM: On occasion we get humor pieces from comedians -- you can find them all archived in our Reading Room.