Bird's eye shot of the block party at The Riot Comedy Festival where a giant statue of an astronaut stands outside of a performance stage off the street.

Photo credit: @theriotcomedy

For its fourth year, the Riot Comedy Festival will take over Montrose for the city’s largest comedy festival. Expanding this year to include shows at The Riot’s second base in Conroe, the comedy festival will feature over 50 performers – including a number of up-and-coming comics – as well as parties, contests, podcast tapings, and a BBQ cook-off.

Based in the upstairs bar at Montrose gastropub hotspot, Rudyard’s, The Riot is one of the city’s premier comedy destinations. Here, The Riot hosts nightly comedy events ranging from stand-up, to showcases, open mics, roasts, and more. In 2023, the club launched its very own comedy festival.

Image shows the program for The Riot Comedy Festival in Houston. Photo credit: Riot Comedy Festival

The festival, running from April 1 – April 4, 2026, will stage over 50 performers heavily featuring local-favorite stand-ups and comics from the new-fledged Austin comedy scene. Featured comedians include:

Timmy No Brakes (Kill Tony)

Matthew Broussard (Tonight Show)

Tommy Pope (Stuff Island, Tires)

Andy Huggins (America’s Got Talent)

Isabel Hagen

Shawn Gardini (Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast)

Lemaire Lee (Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast)

Festival shows will be headquartered at The Gordy. Shows will also take place at Riot Comedy Club, as well as nearby venues including Sterling Theater, AvantGarden, Edmonson Gallery. New to this year, the festival will host shows at GuadalaHarry’s its newly opened secondary location in downtown Conroe.

Graphic shows the schedule for the 2026 Riot Comedy Festival in Houston. Photo credit: Riot Comedy Festival

Special events lined up for the 2026 Riot Comedy Festival include live podcasts and improv, interactive games, and 2026 Riot National Comedy Contest. On Saturday, April 4, the festival will host its second annual All-You-Can–Eat BBQ Cookoff starting at 3 pm.

Saturday will also see The Official Unofficial Pub Crawl kicking off at 11:45 PM at Moxie Hotel Downtown.

Tickets to The Riot Comedy Festival in Houston are now available through the club’s website. Individual shows, day passes, and weekend passes are all available for purchase. Most of the comedy shows are 21+ unless advertised otherwise.