Austin, Texas is globally recognized as the Live Music Capital of the World — but anyone who has spent real time here knows the city’s entertainment scene runs much deeper than live bands and honky-tonks. Austin has one of the most vibrant, diverse, and talked-about comedy scenes in the entire country. At the top of that scene sits the Comedy Mothership — Joe Rogan’s world-famous comedy club on 6th Street that has made Austin a genuine pilgrimage destination for comedy fans. But the Mothership is just the beginning. Austin also has legendary open mic nights, top-tier improv theaters, the nationally acclaimed Moontower Comedy Festival, and a homegrown community of comedians who consistently go on to major careers.
Whether you’re searching for “comedy clubs in Austin,” “open mic comedy Austin,” “stand-up comedy Austin tonight,” or “things to do in Austin at night,” this guide has you covered. Here’s everything you need to know about Austin’s comedy scene — and how to make a full weekend out of it.
The Best Comedy Clubs in Austin
Comedy Mothership ⭐ Featured
No guide to Austin comedy is complete without leading with the Comedy Mothership — the venue that has single-handedly put Austin on the map as one of the most talked-about comedy destinations in the world. Founded by Joe Rogan after his move to Austin, the Comedy Mothership opened at 320 E 6th Street in the heart of downtown Austin and has become one of the most buzzed-about comedy clubs in the country since day one.
The Mothership operates two rooms: the Fat Man (the main stage) and the Little Boy (a more intimate secondary room), with shows running nearly every night of the week. The flagship show is “Joe Rogan and Friends” — a regular set where Rogan performs alongside fellow comedians in the Fat Man room. Tickets are issued directly through the Mothership’s website with strict anti-scalping measures: 100% of ticket redemptions require the original purchaser to be present with a valid government-issued ID. This means shows regularly sell out in minutes and you cannot buy resale tickets — so if you want to go, you need to check the site often and book fast.
Beyond the flagship shows, the Mothership hosts a packed weekly calendar including:
- Joe Rogan and Friends — Regular sets in the Fat Man room featuring Rogan and a rotating lineup of comedian friends
- Kill Tony — The wildly popular live podcast hosted by Tony Hinchcliffe, where amateur comedians get 60 seconds to perform in front of a panel that includes rotating comedy legends. Kill Tony has become one of the most watched live comedy events on YouTube and regularly sells out.
- Bottom of the Barrel — An audience-interactive show in the Little Boy room where comedians perform bits based on suggestions written by the crowd
- Comedy Mothership Showcase — Curated sets featuring the Mothership’s resident comedians and touring guests in both rooms
- Best of Comedy Mothership — Highlight compilation shows featuring the best material from recent Mothership performances
The Mothership is 21+ only and has a two-drink minimum for all guests. Third-party tickets are never accepted. The venue is located at 320 E 6th Street — walking distance from some of Austin’s best restaurants, bars, and the rest of the 6th Street entertainment corridor.
If you can get tickets, the Comedy Mothership is the single most exciting comedy destination in Austin right now — and arguably one of the most exciting comedy clubs in the entire country. Check availability often; the calendar updates regularly and last-minute spots occasionally open up.
Best for: Stand-up fans, Joe Rogan fans, Kill Tony fans, anyone who wants to see world-class comedy in an intimate Austin venue.
Address: 320 E 6th St, Austin, TX 78701
Age: 21+ only | 2-drink minimum
Tickets: comedymothership.com (no third-party tickets accepted) | Google Maps & Reviews
Vulcan Gas Company
Vulcan Gas Company is one of Austin’s premier stand-up comedy venues, known for booking national touring headliners alongside Austin’s best homegrown talent. Located in the heart of the city, it hosts regular weekend showcases, special events, and late-night sets that draw serious comedy fans. If you’re searching for professional stand-up comedy in Austin on a Friday or Saturday night, this is one of your best bets.
Best for: Stand-up fans who want polished, headliner-quality shows.
Find them: Google Maps & Reviews
Cap City Comedy Club
Cap City Comedy Club is Austin’s longest-running dedicated comedy venue and one of the most storied clubs in Texas. Over the decades, Cap City has hosted virtually every major name in stand-up comedy, and it continues to book top national touring acts alongside strong local lineups. The club has a classic comedy club layout — tiered seating, good sightlines from every seat, two-drink minimum — and the kind of atmosphere that makes stand-up feel like the event it is.
Best for: First-timers to Austin comedy, anyone who wants a traditional comedy club experience with nationally recognized acts.
Website: capcitycomedy.com | Google Maps & Reviews
The Creek and the Cave (Austin Location)
Originally founded in New York City, The Creek and the Cave has become a beloved institution for independent comedy — long-form improv, sketch shows, stand-up showcases, and late-night oddities that you won’t find at a corporate comedy club. The Austin location carries that same DIY spirit: cheap drinks, adventurous programming, and a crowd that genuinely loves comedy rather than just a night out.
Best for: Comedy nerds, fans of experimental formats, people who want something beyond mainstream stand-up.
Find them: Google Maps & Reviews
The Velveeta Room
The Velveeta Room on 6th Street is one of Austin’s most beloved comedy institutions — a tiny, wonderfully weird club that has been running comedy shows since 1991. It’s the kind of place where you might catch a future Netflix special headliner for the price of a cover charge and a cheap beer. The Velveeta Room runs shows almost every night of the week, including some of Austin’s best open mic nights, and it holds a special place in the hearts of Austin comedy fans who’ve been going for decades.
Best for: Anyone who wants authentic, grassroots Austin comedy in a legendary venue.
Website: thevelveeta.com | Google Maps & Reviews
The Best Improv Comedy in Austin
The Hideout Theatre
The Hideout Theatre is Austin’s home for long-form improv comedy and has been one of the city’s most beloved performance spaces for over two decades. Unlike stand-up, where the performer arrives with written material, improv creates everything in the moment based on audience suggestions — and the Hideout’s performers are exceptional at it. Shows range from fast-paced short-form formats (think “Whose Line Is It Anyway?”) to slow-burn narrative long-form that unfolds like an improvised movie.
The Hideout also runs improv classes and workshops for all levels, so if you’ve ever wanted to try it yourself, this is the place to start.
Best for: Improv fans, theater lovers, groups looking for a genuinely interactive and unpredictable comedy experience.
Website: hideouttheatre.com | Google Maps & Reviews
Coldtowne Theater
Coldtowne Theater is another pillar of Austin’s improv scene — a community-driven performance space that runs shows, classes, and festivals centered around long-form improv and sketch comedy. It has a strong ensemble of resident performers and regularly brings in nationally recognized improv teachers and guest performers. The programming is adventurous and the prices are remarkably affordable for the quality of what you see.
Best for: Long-form improv fans, aspiring improvisers, comedy students.
Website: coldtowntheater.com | Google Maps & Reviews
Austin Improv Collective
The Austin Improv Collective (AIC) is a grassroots organization that produces improv comedy shows throughout Austin, including regular house shows and collaborative events with other local comedy organizations. They’re deeply embedded in the Austin comedy community and a great resource for finding improv performances outside of the dedicated theater spaces.
Best for: Anyone looking to explore Austin’s broader improv ecosystem beyond the established venues.
Find them: Google Search & Reviews
Austin Open Mic Comedy Nights
One of the best things about Austin’s comedy scene is how accessible it is. Open mic nights happen almost every night of the week across the city, and they’re the proving grounds where Austin’s next generation of comedians cut their teeth. Watching a great open mic in Austin is one of the most genuinely entertaining and unpredictable experiences the city offers — and most of them are free or next to free to attend.
Where to find open mic comedy in Austin
- The Velveeta Room — Runs open mics most weekday nights. Check their calendar.
- Kicks Bar (East Austin) — A rotating lineup of open mics and alternative comedy shows in one of East Austin’s most eclectic dive bars.
- The North Door — Hosts comedy nights and open mics alongside its music programming. Google Maps.
- Barrel O’ Fun — A beloved East Austin dive that hosts regular comedy nights with an emphasis on newer voices in Austin comedy.
- Spider House Ballroom — Hosts alternative comedy shows and open mics in a quirky outdoor venue that feels quintessentially Austin. Google Maps.
Pro tip: Open mic nights in Austin typically start between 8–10 PM. Arrive early to get a good seat — the best rooms fill up fast, especially on weekends when locals pack in for free entertainment.
Austin Comedy Festivals
Austin Sketch Fest
Austin Sketch Fest is one of the longest-running sketch comedy festivals in the country, bringing together sketch groups from across the U.S. and beyond for a multi-day celebration of written, performed comedy. If you’re in Austin during Sketch Fest weekend, it’s an unmissable event — multiple shows per day, late-night sets, and the concentrated energy of a city-wide comedy celebration.
Website: austinSketchfest.com
Out of Bounds Comedy Festival
Out of Bounds (OOB) is Austin’s premier improv and alternative comedy festival, drawing performers from across North America and internationally for a week-long event that fills theaters, bars, and alternative spaces across the city. OOB runs every fall and is considered one of the top improv festivals in the country — a major event for both performers and fans of the form.
Website: outofboundscomedy.com | Google
Austin Comedy Festival (Moontower)
The Moontower Comedy Festival is one of the biggest comedy events in the entire country — a multi-day festival held in Austin every spring that brings together the biggest names in stand-up alongside up-and-coming voices. Past headliners have included some of the biggest names in comedy, and the festival uses venues across Austin including the Paramount Theatre, ACL Live at the Moody Center, and various bars and clubs around the city. If you’re planning an Austin trip around comedy, Moontower weekend is the single best time to come.
Website: moontowercomedyfest.com | Google
Famous Comedians from Austin, Texas
Austin has punched well above its weight in producing and nurturing major comedy talent. The city’s combination of an affordable cost of living (historically, at least), a thriving live entertainment infrastructure, and a culture that genuinely values weird, creative expression has made it a magnet for comedians at every stage of their careers.
Several major names in stand-up comedy have strong Austin connections — either as hometown acts, longtime residents, or comedians who cut their teeth here early in their careers. The Austin comedy scene has a well-earned reputation nationally as a place that produces serious talent, and local fans take fierce pride in that legacy.
On any given weekend, you might see someone at an Austin open mic or club who goes on to have a Netflix special within a few years. That discovery element is one of the things that makes Austin comedy feel electric in a way that’s different from comedy scenes in larger cities.
Dinner and Comedy: Austin’s Best Combos
Austin’s restaurant scene is extraordinary, and combining a great meal with a comedy show makes for an exceptional night out. Here are some tried-and-true combinations:
East Austin dinner before a Velveeta Room show
East 6th Street and the surrounding East Austin neighborhood have become one of the best dining corridors in the city. Grab dinner at Suerte (exceptional modern Mexican), Emmer & Rye (creative American), or Launderette before walking to The Velveeta Room on 6th Street.
South Congress dinner before a Hideout Theatre show
South Congress has some of Austin’s best casual dining — Home Slice Pizza, Perla’s, or Uchi for a splurge — then head downtown to the Hideout Theatre on Congress Avenue for an improv show.
Comedy + River Tubing: The Ultimate Austin Weekend Itinerary
Here’s the truth about planning a great Austin weekend: the best trips combine the city’s outdoor scene with its nightlife, rather than choosing between them. And the perfect two-day Austin comedy weekend looks something like this:
Day 1 — On the Water
Start your Austin weekend the right way: with a guided river tubing trip on the San Marcos River with Roamer Tours. The trip takes about 4–5 hours total (including the 25-minute drive from Austin), the 72°F spring-fed water is the perfect antidote to Texas heat, and the laid-back float with a great group of people puts everyone in exactly the right mood for a night out. Pickup is at Cosmic Coffee & Beer Garden — you’ll be back in Austin by mid-afternoon with plenty of time to rest up before dinner.
After the float: grab dinner in East Austin, then catch a stand-up show at The Velveeta Room or Cap City Comedy Club.
Day 2 — Brunch, Bats, and Laughs
Sleep in, grab breakfast tacos (Torchy’s or Juan in a Million), explore South Congress or Zilker Park in the afternoon, then in the evening catch an improv show at The Hideout Theatre followed by the Congress Avenue Bridge bat flight — 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats emerging at dusk is the kind of spectacle that genuinely gets funnier the more you describe it to people who weren’t there.
This two-day itinerary captures the best of Austin in the way locals actually experience it: outside during the day, in the city’s great entertainment spaces at night.
Tips for Visiting Austin’s Comedy Scene
When is the best time to see comedy in Austin?
Austin comedy runs year-round, but the biggest concentration of events happens during festival season. The Moontower Comedy Festival in spring and Out of Bounds in fall are the two anchor events. Outside of festival season, weekend shows at Cap City and The Velveeta Room, and the regular improv programming at The Hideout, provide consistent options any time of year.
Is Austin comedy good for tourists and visitors?
Absolutely. Austin’s comedy scene is welcoming to outsiders — the clubs, improv theaters, and open mic rooms all draw mixed crowds of locals and visitors, and the shows themselves don’t require local knowledge to enjoy. Open mic nights, in particular, are one of the best ways to spend an evening in Austin for relatively little money.
Are there free comedy shows in Austin?
Yes — many of Austin’s best open mic nights are free or have a one or two drink minimum. The Velveeta Room and several East Austin bars run free open mics multiple nights per week. Improv jams at Coldtowne and The Hideout are often low-cost or free as well.
Frequently Asked Questions About Comedy in Austin
What is the best comedy club in Austin, Texas?
The Comedy Mothership at 320 E 6th Street is the most talked-about comedy club in Austin — and one of the most buzzed-about in the country. Founded by Joe Rogan, it hosts regular “Joe Rogan and Friends” sets, the wildly popular Kill Tony podcast tapings, and nightly showcases. Tickets sell out fast and require the original purchaser to be present with ID — check comedymothership.com for availability. For a more traditional comedy club experience with national touring headliners, Cap City Comedy Club is Austin’s longest-running venue. For the most iconic grassroots Austin comedy experience, The Velveeta Room on 6th Street has been a local institution since 1991. For improv, The Hideout Theatre on Congress Avenue is the gold standard.
Does Austin have a good stand-up comedy scene?
Yes — Austin’s stand-up scene is widely respected nationally. The city has produced and nurtured major comedy talent over the years, and the combination of dedicated clubs, a thriving open mic ecosystem, and major festivals like Moontower make it one of the best cities outside of New York and Los Angeles for live stand-up comedy.
What is the Moontower Comedy Festival?
The Moontower Comedy Festival is Austin’s largest annual comedy event — a multi-day spring festival that brings together some of the biggest names in stand-up comedy for shows at venues across the city, including the Paramount Theatre and ACL Live. It’s considered one of the top comedy festivals in the United States and draws attendees from across the country.
Is Austin comedy good for groups and bachelorette parties?
Comedy shows — especially improv — are excellent for groups. Shows at The Hideout Theatre and Coldtowne are inherently interactive and social, and a stand-up show at Cap City or The Velveeta Room is a natural anchor for a group night out. Many Austin bachelorette parties and birthday groups combine a daytime activity like river tubing with Roamer Tours with an evening comedy show for a perfect full-day Austin experience.
Where can I find comedy shows in Austin tonight?
The best places to check for Austin comedy shows on short notice are: the Cap City Comedy Club website, The Velveeta Room calendar, The Hideout Theatre schedule, and Do512.com — Austin’s most comprehensive local events calendar, which aggregates comedy, music, and events across the city.
Is it hard to get tickets to the Comedy Mothership in Austin?
Yes — Comedy Mothership tickets are notoriously difficult to get. Joe Rogan’s club at 320 E 6th Street sells out most shows within minutes of tickets going on sale, and there is a strict no-resale, no-third-party policy: the original ticket purchaser must be present with a valid government-issued ID. The best strategy is to check comedymothership.com frequently, as new show dates are added regularly and occasional last-minute availability opens up. Kill Tony, the popular live podcast that also films at the Mothership, is one of the most in-demand tickets in Austin.
What other things can I do in Austin besides comedy?
Austin’s entertainment scene goes well beyond comedy. The city is famous for live music on 6th Street, world-class BBQ, an incredible outdoor scene, and unique experiences like guided river tubing on the San Marcos River. If you’re looking for the best daytime activity to pair with an Austin comedy night out, a river tubing trip with Roamer Tours is consistently the top recommendation — it’s the perfect way to spend a Texas afternoon before heading out for laughs in the evening. You can also check out our full guide: 16 Fun Things to Do in Austin, Texas.
Austin Comedy: The Bottom Line
Austin is a comedy city. It may not get the same recognition as New York or Los Angeles, but anyone who has spent time in Austin’s clubs, improv theaters, and late-night open mic rooms knows that something special is happening here. The talent is real, the venues are great, the prices are reasonable, and the crowds are genuinely enthusiastic about comedy in a way that makes every show feel alive.
Whether you’re planning a weekend trip around the Moontower Comedy Festival, looking for something to do on a Tuesday night, or just want to know where to take your group for a memorable Austin evening — the comedy scene delivers.
And if you want to make a full Austin day of it: start on the San Marcos River with Roamer Tours in the afternoon, and end the night laughing at Cap City or The Velveeta Room. That’s an Austin day worth talking about.
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