August 2023

Well, here we are. Time flies and 365 days felt like 65 days. We’re ready to bring you something new, different, and fun. We hope to deliver a place where you can “get your giggle on”, in the Underground Laugh Lounge and a calm relaxing experience away from the outside noise and stresses of the day by enjoying an adult beverage in our Prohibition vibe speakeasy, The Study. This is a new venue to Niles and of course, we’re all excited about it! We ask that you be patient with us as we navigate through these first couple weeks. We appreciate your support, kind words, and patience.

Sheila & Karl

It’s finally here! The grand opening of the Underground Laugh Lounge and the study. Many hours of blood, sweat, tears, joy, and anxiety were poured into this best new home for comedy and spirits in the Midwest/Michiana. The owners, Sheila, and Karl, started with a dream of opening a comedy club. What began as a goal to create a home for laughter in Niles, turned into the purchase and massive remodeling of a Gotham-esque library. Add to that a high-end, low-key, speakeasy whiskey lounge (not your father’s sports bar), and you have a formula for a new era in entertainment on the weekends and relaxation with top-shelf spirits after work throughout the week. 

We’re bringing some of the best headliners and feature acts in the country to niles throughout the year supported by a well-trained, professional staff and core of emcees that will make every show a fun ride and worth every penny spent. 

A few things I’d like to say, and these may be a bit disjointed, but they’re important. Sheila and Karl are invested heavily in making this a home for laughter and high-end spirits in niles. They genuinely love their community and are pouring everything into the remodeling and building up of a business unlike any other in the country. they love their community and want the ull/study to be the heart of niles. I hope you’ll support them as much as they are here to support and entertain you.

Show content. We have ratings on all of our shows. All you must do is check our website, social media, or subscribe to this monthly newsletter. You’ll find a description of the headliner and a rating of the set which will range from pg to rr. Here’s how the ratings play out:

Show Ratings

PG – church adjacent. A bit of naughty but not enough to scare memaw

PG13 – a few sentence enhancements (bad words), suggestive material (have memaw bring pearls to clutch), and slightly, almost, kinda not tv appropriate

R – leave memaw at home. Don’t come if you’re easily offended.

RR – we only have a few headliners in this category. Same as “R” but with extra spiciness. Even if memaw is home, make sure she has earmuffs on. 

That’s it for show ratings. We will never have an X-rated comic on our stage. Outside of that, if you are easily offended, please stay home. It’s a comedy club and we allow our comics the freedom to tell jokes of all sorts. If you like a milder form of comedy, come to a pg show. You and your grandparents won’t be disappointed!

 

Also, we have some amazing community sponsors. The way we grow a robust city is to support local artisans and shopkeepers. Please make sure and check out our partners!

One final thing – the ull, the study, and their owners are dedicated to being benefactors to the community. We will be announcing multiple Sunday shows that will directly benefit local charitable organizations. Stay tuned for more information!

Open Mic at the Underground:

Starting September 13^th, the underground laugh lounge will begin hosting our weekly open mic. This is a chance for local comedians (or folks looking to chase a dream of being a comedian) to sign up and hit the stage. We will have eight slots available (pre-reservation only for our stage), and each open mic will be closed by the week’s headliner or feature! It is only $8.00 to get in the door (and a two-item minimum.) go to our website www.undergroundlaughlounge.com to sign up, today!

Comedy 101:

Couch to stage in six weeks! That’s right. You can learn the art of stand-up comedy in six weeks. We have instructors who have been performing comedy for a combined 95 years and have been teaching this amateurs’ course for over twenty years. Reach out through the website or call our main number for details. Class begins oct. 1^st and culminates in a contest where the winner will get some major prizes including a paid week as an emcee at the underground laugh lounge! Only ten slots available. 

Benefit Shows:

Throughout the year, on some Sundays, we will be having bonus shows to benefit local charities! On those Sundays when we have benefit shows (featuring that listed week’s comics) we will partner with those different charities by taking donations for the charities at the door and donating HALF of our ticket sales to the charity! Come out, bring a listed item to donate*, and have some laughs while doing something great to help humanity. Here’s the September schedule:

September 10^th: Benefit Show 6pm (seating at 5) for Ferry Street Resource Center (with silent auction.)

September 17^th: Benefit Show 6pm (seating at 5) for Toys For Tots

September 24^th: Benefit Show 6pm (seating at 5) for the Berrien County Human Society

*see website and social media for listings of items to bring

Grand Opening Week: 

September 7^th, 8^th, 9^th – Show Rating: R

Special Event

Headliner – Davin Rosenblatt (Show Rating: R)

Davin is one of the best headliners touring the country today. Considered one of the smartest crowd talking comics on the road, his work on-stage is NEVER the same. Cultivating chaos and making his crowds laugh along the way, Davin is a massive crowd favorite wherever he performs.

Davin has been featured on Comedy Central’s Fresh Faces of Comedy and The Uptown Comedy Lounge. He hosts his own nationally syndicated radio show, Davin’s Den, which is currently carried by iHeart Radio and was syndicated in over thirty markets across the country.

Feature – Sean Shank

Emcee – Brad Miller

 

September 15^th, 16^th – Show Rating: R

Headliner – Mark Knope

For over a quarter-century, Mark has been making people laugh – in clubs, at colleges, casinos – you NAME it! You wanna “bet on a winner?” Bet on MARK KNOPE! Mark has performed in forty-five states with over 5,000 shows under his belt! He has been featured on COMCAST’S Comedy Spotlight on the Road, Comedy Central’s Stand-Up, Stand-up, Nightshift on FOX, America’s Funniest People and Comedy at CLUB54. He’s opened for George Lopez, Kevin James, Harland Williams, Richard Lewis, Bobcat Goldthwaite, Tommy Chong, Bobby Collins, Tommy Davidson, and the legendary Wayne Newton!

Feature – Homer Shadowheart

MC – Brian Wells

 

September 22^nd, 23^rd – Show Rating: PG-13/R

Headliner – Troy Davis

Troy Davis is the quintessential stand-up comedian. Troy has performed in over two hundred cities in thirty-five states in all types of venues to include bars, dinner theaters, corporate events, comedy clubs, arenas, and cruise ships. Troy has opened for D. L. Hughley, Billy Gardell, and Dave Chappell. He is laid-back and brings clean family-inspired comedy to the Midwest and beyond. He has a hilarious view on family situations, marriage, kids, and divorce. Growing up in the sixties in a mixed urban neighborhood, Troy is organic, original, and hysterical. It doesn’t matter if the crowd is twenty or seventy; his funny is funny.

Feature – DJ Dangler

MC – Rob Perugini

 

September 29^th, 30^th – Show Rating: R

Headliner – Bea Tea

Funny doesn’t begin to describe the ex-college wrestler and lover of ALL things racing. Bea Tea is a world renown race enthusiast, comedian, actor, and podcaster. He has toured across the nation appearing on TV and at colleges and theaters. He has been featured in award-winning films and is a regular at top comedy clubs. Don’t miss this high-energy, dynamic, and hilarious headliner.

Feature – Christopher Gathright

MC – Blair Gingerich