After years of producing shows around Boston, Shawn Carter set his sights last year on a road trip across the country. He didn’t get very far due to the pandemic, but where he ended up brought him on an entirely new journey of its own.
As the head proprietor of Blue Ridge Comedy Club in Bristol, Tennessee, which celebrates its grand opening on Friday (July 9), the Rockland native is looking forward to bringing not only the years of experience from running shows at places like The Pour House and Maggy’s Lounge to the Volunteer State, but also the very comics that helped to fill those rooms time and time again. Headlining the new club’s maiden voyage will be Andrew Mayer, who starts off a four-show weekend stint with a sold out show. Following Mayer will be a cavalcade of faces familiar to the Boston scene including Jenny Zigrino, Alex Giampapa, Liam McGurk, and Rob Crean, among others.
The groundwork has been set for what’s to come in the legacy of the new club, and Carter is excited for the opportunity ahead, but he isn’t taking sole credit, as he called on both longtime and newfound friends to help him navigate the seas of running his own comedy club. Additionally, he is grateful for the time spent in rooms all over the area, but the feeling of running his own space has him on cloud nine.
“I’m feeling good about it. We’ve had some good guidance along the way from people like Rick Jenkins, and the people who run the Vermont Comedy Club, and we’ve also talked to people here in town like the Bristol Chamber of Commerce, and everyone has just been super nice about it,” Carter tells Vanyaland. “I feel really good about being in the driver’s seat with this club, where it’s our own space, as opposed to running a show in somebody else’s space from week to week where we could get cancelled because of a Celtics game or something.”
The desire to lay the foundation of a great comedy scene in Bristol with the help of acts from around the area is a strong one for Carter. However, given the amount of connections he has amassed from his years in Boston, Carter also knows of more than a few comics, like Mayer and Dan Boulger, who not only exemplify the strength of the Boston comedy scene, but also harness the ability to crush on any stage they step onto, regardless of what state it might be in.
“My wife is from eastern Tennessee, so she’s really excited to see how Boston comics fare down here, and she’s thinking that people are really going to love them,” says Carter. “I’m hoping that’s the case, and really, with comics like Andrew Mayer and Dan Boulger, they’re just so funny that it’d be hard not to laugh when they’re talking, regardless of where they’re from.”
It’s been a long process for Carter, but as he closes in on the club’s grand opening, he’s just looking forward to seeing the fruits of his labor pay off, and watching the comedy scene blossom down in Bristol.
“When we’re able to get in there on opening night, and bring comedy to downtown Bristol,” he adds, “I think it’s going to feel great, and be super rewarding.”