Just like that, the third annual 26th Annual Comedy Festival has come to a close. It was a wild five nights of comedy and a rousing success by all accounts. Thanks so much for coming out to the various shows and helping us celebrate —we hope to continue the fun next year, so keep your calendars wide open. In the meantime, we’ve got a ton of fantastic photos from the week’s events, and you can check some of them out below. Except where noted, they were shot by Matt Lief Anderson.
Thanks also to everyone who has performed, all the venues that have hosted shows, and all of our sponsors: truTV, Lyft, Lagunitas, Don Q, Virgin Hotels, and the Chicago Humanities Festival.
Sarah Silverman welcomes the packed house to the final night of the 26th Annual Comedy Festival.
We caught Sarah Silverman and friends hanging out backstage at the massive Lyric Opera Of Chicago.
Reggie Watts rocking out with Karen at Thalia Hall.
The magic of Reggie.
Ian Abramson preparing the audience for 7 Minutes In Purgatory.
The Chicago skyline was the perfect backdrop for 7 Minutes In Purgatory.
Jo Firestone hanging out behind The Hideout
Jo Firestone brought out a special guest (her dear, sweet mom) at The Hideout.
All of our favorite ClickHole pals outside of The Hideout.
ClickHole packed the house at The Hideout.
Everyone went wild for the surprise guest appearance from Mr. Peanut at the live ClickHole show.
Cameron Esposito poses backstage at Lincoln Hall.
We caught Damien Lemon in a moment of reflection at Lincoln Hall.
Chicago loves hometown hero Cameron Esposito.
Reggie Watts was all aglow, DJing our after party at the Cerise Rooftop.
We caught Chris Gethard backstage at Thalia Hall.
Michael Che brought down the house during his sold-out show at Lincoln Hall.
Chris Gethard’s “Career Suicide” was a show unlike any other.
A fun after party candid shot of Che and Abramson egging Gethard on.
Ian Abramson welcomes Michael Che to the Virgin Hotel stage.
The audience jumped to their feet to welcome Tracy Morgan to Chicago as he wrapped up his comeback tour, Picking Up The Pieces.
Tracy’s openers, Marc Theobald and Tracy Ashley, hug it out on stage.
The majesty of Chicago’s Lyric Opera, enhanced by our comedy fest banner.
Late Show With Seth Meyers writer and performer Michelle Wolf was our surprise guest at the first Virgin Hotel after party.