The National Comedy Center’s Lucille Ball Comedy Festival will feature headlining comedians Jerry Seinfeld, Bert Kreischer and Seth Meyers from Aug. 6-9.

For the first time, this year’s festival features three major headlining comedians performing in the Northwest Arena. Additional talent will be featured in stand-up showcases and late-night comedy shows throughout the festival.

Jerry Seinfeld will headline on Thursday, Aug. 6; Bert Kreischer will take the stage as part of his “Permission to Party” tour on Saturday, Aug. 8; and Seth Meyers will perform on Sunday, Aug. 9. A mainstage Stand-Up Showcase on Friday, Aug. 7, and showcases throughout the festival will feature a lineup of talent from across the country.

“The National Comedy Center’s museum and archive were established to celebrate the art form’s distinct voices and contributions throughout time, and this year’s festival brings together artists who represent distinct approaches to the craft. I love that audiences can experience the best of live comedy while connecting it to the larger story we preserve and share every day in Jamestown,” said Journey Gunderson, executive director.

Seinfeld’s performance is at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 6, in the Northwest Arena. Kreischer will perform shows at 7 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 8, in the Northwest Arena and Meyers will perform at 5 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 9, in the Northwest Arena. The Stand-Up Showcase will take place at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 7, at the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts.

“Our festival has grown into one of the premier comedy events in the country, and this year’s lineup reflects that momentum,” said Malachi Livermore, National Comedy Center vice president of programming and guest experiences. “With three of today’s top artists and an expanded slate of performances across the city, anchored by the award-winning museum, the multi-day experience brings audiences closer to comedy’s biggest stars and rising talent.”

Tickets for headlining performances and festival events will go on pre-sale for National Comedy Center members beginning Monday, April 27, at noon with tickets on sale to the general public beginning Friday, May 1 at 12 p.m. ET at ComedyCenter.org. To become a National Comedy Center Member in order to gain first access to available seats during the pre-sale ticket window, visit ComedyCenter.org/membership or call the National Comedy Center at 716-484-2222.

Additional artists scheduled to appear include comedian, writer, producer and Emmy Award-winner Carol Leifer, whose credits include Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Saturday Night Live, Modern Family, and Hacks, plus America’s Got Talent finalist Gina Brillon (Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Late Night with Seth Meyers, NBC’s Stand up for Diversity Showcase), Ian Lara (The Tonight Show, Comedy Central, HBO MAX), Jenny Zigrino (CONAN, Comedy Central, MTV, Netflix is a Joke, HBO), and Drew Dunn (The Tonight Show, Dry Bar, Don’t Tell Comedy, Just For Laughs Comedy Festival), with more talent to be announced in the coming weeks at ComedyCenter.org/festival.

The festival will feature more than 50 live events over four days, including late-night comedy, block parties, live music and more – all part of a multi-day celebration of comedy’s contemporary voices and rising talent. The full festival lineup will be announced in the coming weeks at ComedyCenter.org/festival.

“We’ve built this festival to offer something for every kind of comedy fan,” added Livermore. “From nationally touring headliners to the Stand-Up Showcase featuring a wide range of distinct comedic voices, along with late-night shows, block parties and special events throughout the city – audiences can experience comedy in multiple ways across the entire weekend.”

The 2026 festival marks the 35th anniversary of the event and the 30th anniversary of the Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Museum, a milestone year for comedy in Jamestown.

The festival, which each year sees more than 15,000 ticket buyers traveling from more than 40 states in five days to Lucille Ball’s hometown will also commemorate the 75th anniversary of I Love Lucy – the iconic series that forever shaped television comedy.

Recently named the “Best Pop Culture Museum in the country” by USA Today, and home to the Carl Reiner Department of Archives & Preservation, the National Comedy Center will be open throughout the festival, offering visitors an immersive, personalized experience featuring interactive exhibits celebrating comedy’s greatest moments and creators.

Over its 35-year history, the Lucille Ball Comedy Festival has featured hundreds of artists in Jamestown, including Jon Stewart, Lily Tomlin, Nate Bargatze, John Mulaney, Trevor Noah, Bill Murray, Jim Gaffigan, Taylor Tomlinson, Jeff Foxworthy, Gabriel Iglesias, Jay Leno, Sebastian Maniscalco, Amy Schumer, Nicole Byer, David Spade, Margaret Cho, Brian Regan, Kevin Nealon, Ellen DeGeneres, Lewis Black, Michelle Wolf, Mark Normand, Sam Morrill, W. Kamau Bell, , Paula Poundstone, Dan Aykroyd, Joan Rivers, Bob Newhart, The Smothers Brothers and many more.

JERRY SEINFELD

Seinfeld, who appeared at the 2015 Lucille Ball Comedy Festival, saw his comedy career take off after his first appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in 1981. Eight years later, he teamed up with Larry David to create Seinfeld, widely regarded as one of the most successful and influential comedy series in television history. The show ran for nine seasons, earning numerous Emmy, Golden Globe and People’s Choice Awards, and was later named the greatest television show of all time by TV Guide and the best sitcom ever in a 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair poll.

Seinfeld’s recent Emmy-nominated Netflix projects include Jerry Before Seinfeld and 23 Hours to Kill, along with the acclaimed series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. He has also starred in, written and produced films including Comedian and Bee Movie, directed and produced the Broadway hit Colin Quinn: Long Story Short, and authored multiple best-selling books. He currently stars in the Emmy-nominated Netflix film Unfrosted, which he directed, co-wrote and produced, and continues to perform stand-up nationally and internationally.

BERT KREISCHER

Bert Kreischer has evolved from Rolling Stone’s “Number One Partier in the Nation” to one of the top-grossing stand-up comedians in the world – and a powerhouse entrepreneur, actor, producer, content creator and entertainment brand. Named by Forbes as “one of the best storytellers of his generation,” Kreischer has parlayed his signature comedy and authenticity into a dynamic media empire.

His sixth Netflix special, Lucky, premiered in 2025 and debuted in Netflix’s Top 10 most-watched shows. Through Berty Boy Productions, Kreischer oversees hit podcasts and series including Bertcast, Something’s Burning and 2 Bears, 1 Cave (with Tom Segura), reaching millions of fans worldwide.

Kreischer is the founder of the Fully Loaded Comedy Festival and starred in and produced The Machine, a feature adaptation of his viral stand-up story. He also recently launched the Netflix series Free Bert, which quickly reached the platform’s global Top 10. He is currently on his Permission to Party World Tour, performing to sold-out audiences around the world.

SETH MEYERS

Seth Meyers is an Emmy Award-winning writer, New York Times bestselling author and host of Late Night with Seth Meyers since 2014.

Meyers began his career on Saturday Night Live, where he spent 13 seasons as a cast member, including nine seasons as head writer and eight seasons as anchor of “Weekend Update.” He has earned 33 Emmy nominations for his work in television.

He has released two acclaimed stand-up specials – Lobby Baby and Seth Meyers: Dad Man Walking – and continues to perform stand-up nationwide. Meyers also co-headlines a residency with John Oliver in New York and collaborates on multiple podcasts with Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone.