Rifflandia is returning this week which means attendees will get to see some amazing musical acts, but there will also be some industry-leading comedians performing at this year’s festival.
‘Lafflandia’ is booked by local comedian and comedy writer Dan Duvall and presented by Hecklers.
Duvall has been doing comedy for over nine years and has performed on Just For Laughs Vancouver, he had a documentary made about him called Funny Tweets, and has consistently booked world renowned comedians to perform alongside talented locals at Hecklers Pub.
This is Duvall’s second year putting together the lineup for Lafflandia and he says he approached it the same way he books Hecklers, getting top notch Canadian talent and some heavy hitters mixed in with as many local comedians as possible.
“I definitely focus on Canadian comics, because any chance you can get the chance to put the spotlight on comedians in Canada is a good opportunity for me and our community,” Duvall told Victoria Buzz.
“We have incredibly talented cool comedians in Canada and most people don’t get to hear them.”
Some of the big names that are being flown in for Lafflandia are: Brandon Ash-Mohammed, one of Just For Laughs New Faces of Comedy and a writer for This Hour Has 22 Minutes and Canada’s Drag Race; Ryan Williams, whose latest comedy album debuted at number one; Courtney Gilmour, who was a finalist on Canada’s Got Talent, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
“Ryan Williams is on the show and that dude is a monster,” Duvall exclaimed.
“It’s a really good group of awesome people who are incredibly talented… the accolades are plentiful.”
Some of the local talent on the bill for Lafflandia includes Emily Woods and Patricia Ellen, who co-produce a weekly standup show at Vicious Poodle called Pound Town, as well as Darren Miller, James Boyle and Mikey Dubbs, who are all mainstays of the Victoria comedy scene.
This year, there will be a new space for comedians to perform at because the Electric Avenue setup is slightly different from last year and festival-goers will be able to catch all the comedians in between musical acts beginning at around 7:45 p.m. every day this first weekend of Rifflandia.
To find the full schedule to plan out your Rifflandia Experience and ensure you don’t miss any of Lafflandia, download the official Rifflandia app.
“These people are bonafide roof rippers, like absolute monster comics who are so so talented,” Duvall said.
“It’s an honour and a privilege to give them such an awesome platform like Rifflandia. It’s put on by such awesome people with great lineups in such a rad city, it’s a really good gig and I’m super thrilled to be a part of it.”
