Comedy & music, when matched & performed accordingly together, have proven for centuries that they make a great pair for entertaining both music & comedy fans. Especially in spaces like stand-up comedy, you see a ton of it regularly from the likes of Adam Sandler, Bo Burnham, Catherine Cohen, Rachel Bloom, Fred Armisen & Reggie Watts to name a few.
Like the latter mentioned, 800 Pound Gorilla has had the pleasure of recently releasing some comedy specials by an arsenal of funny & musical comedians who've been able to effortlessly infuse both music & comedy into their latest hours. Whether you’re looking for silly songs, funny musical sketches, or wanting to hear funny comedians sing & carry a solid tune, here are five great musically gifted comedians & their comedy specials we recommend checking out.
Nick Offerman
Comedian, actor & Parks and Recreation star Nick Offerman is no stranger to combining his talents for both music & comedy. When playing Ron Swanson on the hit NBC comedy series, he also played the alter-ego Duke Silver, the saxophone playing Jazz musician which Offerman can actually play in real life along with the piano & guitar. He’s also flexed his musician chops while starring in the 2018 indie musical dramedy Hearts Beat Loud.
In his 2020 comedy special, Full Bush, Offerman sings a song with a ukulele he made himself in his woodshop & opens up on the “Full Bush” lifestyle. Filmed at the gorgeous jewel box known as The Chicago Theatre. Offerman calls this hour of stand-up “a feature length poultice of humor with which to salve the unpleasant stressors of modern living. Goes great with meat, alcohol, or turnips!”
Huge Davies
Among a few ways to stand out online as a musical comedian these days is to cleverly point out the funny in today’s popular music and use a distinct custom keyboard in your show. And that can be said for the acclaimed & quickly rising UK comedian Huge Davies with his first & Edinburgh nominated comedy special The Carpark.
In this breakout debut, Davies combines his confident on stage presence, dark humour, surreal material and his one-of-a-kind customized keyboard for a unique & hilarious comedy special. Join him as he prepares to present his musical about a carpark; well, if he ever gets round to it. With musings on Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes, Daft Punk & Gregorian chanting, be prepared for a musical adventure that teeters on the edge of the void.
Foil Arms and Hog
Ireland's top sketch comedy group Foil Arms and Hog, made up of Sean Finegan (Foil), Conor McKenna (Arms) and Sean Flanagan (Hog), have been making wildly funny & viral videos online since their early university days when launching their YouTube channel in 2008. And now many years later, they’re selling out theaters across the world & nab millions of views on their videos every week and fans can see why with their critically acclaimed & musically infused comedy show Swines.
This show features hilarious sketches, razor sharp ad-libs and sheer silliness they’re known & loved for. The show features a host of (not on the internet) hilarious sketches, including The world’s strongest man… (mime edition), what happens when an actor is used for military purposes, and the true story of when Beethoven was part of a musical duo with some guy called Barry.
Josh Glanc
Aussie oddball & comic Josh Glanc has been making his comedic rise playing the world's biggest stages including Glastonbury, the O2 Arena & Just For Laughs. This is all accompanied by winning multiple comedy awards, selling out runs at London’s Soho Theatre and the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, and being called one of the most exciting new talents on the comedy circuit.
Josh Glanc’s debut comedy special, Vrooom Vrooom, features original songs, characters, stand-up and impeccably well-crafted silliness. It’s bizarre, absurd, wild – and just so much fun. If you love comedy that’s straight up silly & fresh, this special is one to check out.
Lano and Woodley
Australian comedy duo Lano & Woodley, made up of Colin Lane & Frank Woodley, have been bringing laughs together as a duo for the last three decades beginning with their debut show at Melbourne’s tiny Carlton Courthouse in 1994 that won the Perrier Award for best in comedy at Edinburgh. And now, they’re back with their freshly inspired mayhem and a handful of classics from the vault in this evening of belly laughs. In a stream of sight gags, comedy songs and logic bending verbal chaos, comedy legends Lano and Woodley turn bickering banter into an artform.
Lano and Woodley in Lano and Woodley is a greatest hits mix of new material and classic routines drawn from the massive repertoire of pointless stupidity that has made millions of people bliss out on belly laughs… AND ISN'T THAT WHAT WE ALL NEED?
