Matt Ward

Brief Bio Summary: Matt Ward is a stand-up comedian, comedy show promoter and producer living in Knoxville, Tennessee. He has performed all over the country in front of crowds as large as 7,000 and has produced shows for comedians such as Doug Stanhope... more »

Brief Bio Summary:
Matt Ward is a stand-up comedian, comedy show promoter and producer living in Knoxville, Tennessee. He has performed all over the country in front of crowds as large as 7,000 and has produced shows for comedians such as Doug Stanhope and Maria Bamford. Matt can perform nearly an hour of material PG-13 and has a solid 30 minute PG set as well.

Accomplishments:

Matt is partners with Comedy Club owner Timmy Sherrill with whom he co-produces the Cape Fear Comedy Festival in Wilmington, North Carolina. Matt also produces the annual stand-up comedy contest Port City’s Top Comic, also in Wilmington, North Carolina and The Rocky Top Comedy Contest in Knoxville, Tennessee. He currently books and runs a monthly one nighter in Knoxville at Patrick Sullivan’s called Old City Comedy. He also produces the event Laughing for Life, a stand-up comedian charity show that raises money for The Steve Haydu St. Patrick’s Day Lo-Tide Run.

Longer “Now that you give a shit” Version:

Bio:
Comedian “Super Cat” Matt Ward

Matt Ward grew up in Southern Ohio where he began his performance career in a band called Mr. Torandohead in 1996. The band combined comedic rants with punk rock guitar and occasional improvisational pieces. After the group disbanded in 1999, Matt continued to promote events and other musical acts including his own solo work eventually landing himself the house emcee at a Northwestern Ohio music festival in 2003. This is where Matt found himself improvising comedy bits and working to keep the crowd entertained between bands.

In 2006 Matt moved to Wilmington, North Carolina where he met comedian Timmy Sherrill. Timmy hosted Nutt Street Comedy, a stand-up comedy open mic in the basement of the Soap Box in downtown Wilmington. That year Matt plunged headlong into stand-up comedy performing almost every week all summer at the open mic. In late 2007 Matt organized a group of stand-up comedians from the open mic and started the touring comedy series Comedy by the Beach. Over the next year the group booked and performed shows from Ocracoke Island in the Outer Banks of North Carolina to Savannah, Georgia. “Nothing makes you more ready for anything then cutting your teeth performing in front of drunks that have no idea how to behave at a comedy show..” Matt said about the Comedy by the Beach days.

In 2008 Matt founded, Laughing for Life, a charity cancer benefit featuring comedians from the Cape Fear Coast. The first event raised nearly $3,000 for local families suffering financially due to cancer. The event was so successful that word of mouth alone allowed it to expand to two nights. In February 2010 Laughing for Life nearly sold out both shows and doubled the amount raised from their first event making them the single largest contributor to The Steve Haydu St. Patrick’s Day Lo-Tide Run. http://www.lotiderun.org

Matt has performed for over 7,000 people at the Community Festival in Columbus, Ohio where he championed the addition of Stand-Up Comedy to the festivals entertainment line-up. He also performed his stand-up opening for Chevelle at Xfest in Kinston, North Carolina performing in front of nearly 5,000 fans. In addition Matt recently appeared on the newest CD by Comedian Doug Stanhope “Live from Across the Street”. Matt produced his SELL OUT show at City Stage on Tuesday August 11th, 2009.

Matt moved to Knoxville, TN in August of 2009 and quickly started a new comedy series called Old City Comedy at Patrick Sullivan’s in the Old City of downtown Knoxville.

Many comics have been road tested and can handle a room, but not many comics understand the business of stand-up comedy from all angles and have the experience producing, booking, performing and marketing stand-up comedy like Matt Ward does. « less