Nashville Theater & Comedy

Nashville is not just all music, the performing arts here is quite strong too. Here’s your chance to learn more about theater and comedy in Nashville.

Tennessee Performing Arts Center

The TPAC, located within the James K. Polk Cultural Center, is the main hub for the performing arts in Nashville. This place is home to the Tennessee Repertory Theatre, the Nashville Opera, the Music City Drum and Bugle Corps, and the Nashville Ballet.

Located in downtown Nashville, the TPAC occupies an entire city block between 5th and 6th Avenues and Deaderick and Union Streets. The Tennessee State Museum is also housed in the center so it’s a pretty damn big (and cultural) place.

The TPAC consists of three main venues, including Andrew Jackson Hall, the largest at 2,472 seats, James K. Polk Theater (1,075 seats), and the Andrew Johnson Theater (256 seats). And in case there wasn’t enough culture for y’all (see what I did there?), the War Memorial Auditorium (1,661 seats) is a historical landmark that’s across the street.

Comedy

So you think all the good comics are in LA and New York City? Oh how wrong you are, my friend. Thanks to modern technology like airplanes, comedy celebs pass through this town all the time to light up the stages. Plus, there is plenty of awesome homegrown talent right here in Nashville. Comedians better bring a certain kind of charm to make these Southerners laugh.

The Wild West Comedy Fest is one of the biggest comedy events in Nashville and is essentially a comedy takeover in late April. Big names like Adam Sandler, Larry the Cable Guy, Patton Oswalt, Judd Apatow, and Doug Benson take to the stages. And when it’s not Comedy Fest, there’s plenty of great talent rolling in, including Jeff Foxworthy, Trevor Noah, Jay and Silent Bob, and Miranda Sings.

Check out the War Memorial Auditorium, James K. Polk Theater, and the Ryman to peep those headliners.

Local Joints

If you want local, Zanies is the club that puts Nashville comedy on the map. It’s been going strong for over 30 years and is still the go-to for stand-up comedy.

If you’re not heading to Zanies, be sure to check out The East Room. In 2015, this happening spot hosted one of the greatest comedy events of all time: The Broken Record Comedy Show, a local funny corp, ran for 184 hours and 16 minutes—more than seven and a half days straight! Talk about some serious laughing.

If those two venues don’t tickle your fancy, there’s also the Third Coast Comedy Club, and bars such as Belcourt Taps and Springwater host comedy nights too.

Overall, though Nashville is technically the Music City, there’s some something here to laugh about.

Browse EvilTickets for theater and comedy shows in Nashville.