Devon Walker

Nationally famous as a new addition to Saturday Night Live, in Austin we know him as our own. Returning to Moontower and the stages where he cut his comedy teeth, he’s finessed his calm yet weird vibe (don’t miss our interview with Walker at austinchronicle.com/arts).

April 20, Antone’s, 7pm & Parish, 7:30pm
April 21, Antone’s, 9pm
April 22, Parker Jazz Club, 7pm & Cap City Comedy Club, 10pm

Carlos Ballarta en español

The rising star of Mexican stand-up may stay behind his signature glasses, but his forthright material – about death, fatherhood, and bad sandwiches – reveals everything. Moontower has brought him back for back-to-back sets, all in Spanish, as part of its commitment to making comedy available to everyone.

April 20, Stateside, 7 & 9:30pm

Maria Bamford

The queen of character comedy, Bamford slides effortlessly between personas and uses them to dissect her own well-recorded neuroses. So often the calm eye at the raging storm of laughter that is one of her shows, Bamford’s observational understatement is her superpower.

April 21, Stateside, 7pm
April 22, Stateside, 9:30pm

Girl God

Trans comedians and self-described childhood friends April Clark and Grace Freud … well, friends is stretching it; Clark was Freud’s school bully, or so they claim, but then they also say they both lost their virginity to Angela Merkel. That’s just a taste of their wild sketch comedy stylings that made them the standouts at last year’s Austin Sketch Fest.

April 20, Hideout, 8:30pm
April 21, Higbie’s, 9:30pm

Big Jay Oakerson

Fearless and foulmouthed, comedy’s wrecking ball returns and blasts through what feels like every venue in town, leaving his signature trail of destruction and laughs in his wake. Oakerson doesn’t just work blue: He’s created a whole rainbow of nasty from eggshell to royal.

April 20, 800 Congress, 6:30pm; Creek and the Cave, 8pm; & Antone’s, 11:30pm
April 21, Parish, 7:30pm & Creek and the Cave, 10pm
April 22, Creek and the Cave, 7:30pm; Antone’s, 9pm; & Stateside, 11:30pm

Moontower Just for Laughs Austin 2023, through April 23 at venues around Austin. Passes, tickets, and details at austintheatre.org/moontower-comedy.

This article appears in April 21 • 2023.

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The Chronicle's first Culture Desk editor, Richard has reported on Austin's growing film production and appreciation scene for over a decade. A graduate of the universities of York, Stirling, and UT-Austin, a Rotten Tomatoes certified critic, and eight-time Best of Austin winner, he's currently at work on two books and a play.