Laughter is Back in New York

She's with us right now in the Bloomberg Interactive Broker Studio. We're gonna Talk New York Comedy Festival. We're going to talk to the stand up for heroes fundraiser as well. Caroline, how are you? I'm good. How are you? We're doing well. Hey, it's really good to have you here in person. We did this a year ago, but you joined us on the phone even though you were doing an in person comedy festival last year. Um, how is this year different,

when people are more comfortable going inside? Well, I think we we've become a little more accustomed to God. I think we all got covid. So it's like but almost every funny US had covid get it over. You know, we were really happy last year that no one got sick during the festival because that was the wave that was coming through. So it was like first Delta Premicron was coming through at that time and we were very lucky. We didn't have to cancel on everything and everything was

pretty good last year. So we're expecting this year to be even better. So we have, you know, over two hundred shows around New York City, over two hundred Comedians, that's for sure. Even more than that. Um and tomorrow we announced a whole group of all of the little, smaller creative shows around the city and you can go to New York comedy festival dot Com and look up those shows and our headliners this year Bill Maher, Joe Koy, Wanda Sykes, Tracy Morgan, oh JB smooth, huge, Jimmio Yang,

nurse Blake. Now do you know? I think about nurse okay, knew everyone else on that list, though, came around during covid. This was this person is an actual nurse, started creating videos and, as following of everybody in the health industry, they go out to see him. So he's at Town Hall on November Thirteenth Festival on Sunday night and look him up. No, you have to. It's really it's really well, the nurses. I'm sorry to jump in, kid, I know

you have a question. I wanted to ask how new comedians kind of go, you know, rise through the ranks in this day and age, because it's not like it was thirty years ago. It's, you know, Youtube, Tiktok, instagram. You can build these followings online. Um, are you seeing that when you look out across the landscape right now? Well, we see that with nurse Blake, you know. We also see if somebody recording their own special and then putting it out and getting, you know, millions of views on it.

I mean, what could be better than that? You're not talking about someone like Louis C K who's been doing I'm talking about like a Sam Morrel, somebody like that WHO's able to put himself out because nobody would give him a special, puts himself out and now has this big following. They have these direct relationships with with people around the World Thru Social Platform and not what both Burnham did, didn't he do something similar. No, well, Bo

has been around for a long time. I mean he was with comedy central for a long time, that's true. Thinking he has been directing now too, so that's you know, he's in the directing mode Um. But it's it's wonderful how the socials, you know, have helped everybody you know obtain an audience. So that's the good thing. It's very you know. So compare and contrast what you're expecting this year to last year, because last year it was in person. Like you said, you managed not to have anyone get ill.

Are People who attended last year who are attending this year? Should they be expecting any sort of different experience? No, I think we have. I think we have more. We have more to experience this year and you know, there's really something for everyone, you know, from Joe boy to Tracy Morgan, to Jimmy o Yang to want to Psykes, I mean Miss Pat is at carolines. She's wonderful. She's a wonderful story to tell. Um, to make a reservation,

go seem this paddock carolines. I mean we have we have so much for everyone and we're, you know, we're dotting all the boroughs trying to, you know, be democratic and to be everywhere in the city this this you know, during this festival. Okay, it's one thing to know the headliners, you know the Bill Mars, the Wanda psychs, the Conan O'Brien's and more, but what about the up and commerce and how do you identify those? As a consumer, you

have two questions. One, how to identify them as someone like me, like you know, if they're at the New York Comedy Festival, okay, they went through some sort of filter, right, so it's going to be good. But for someone like you, how do you identify these people? Okay, so we watch and we watch. You know, in this day and age, we get to see everyone, whether it in California or

just living in St Louis. They will send a youtube clip in or a clip of themselves at a club and we choose who we want to be on New York's funniest. So New York's funniest SCIO will be held at the hard rock hotel. It's all one of our partners during the festival. It's the place to stay when you come to the New York comedy festival, go stay to the hard rock on street, Wonderful New Hotel and we have New York. It's funniest. So during the we

pick people out. Now the people that have won in the last few years is Michael Jay, Ricky bles, Michelle Wolfe was involved, Tim Dylan was involved. So you see, we were all big names. Name now big names now. So when you come through that filter of New York's, you know, funniest, you really made it and you're on your way. Well, to the discussion of social media and TIKTOK and people being sort of able to launch their own sort of followings. Do you have a team that's

just scouring social media? Um, we have a team that scours like shows constantly. Is the team? You know, it's it's more a team effort. Everybody there. You know. It's Greg Charles, it's John Moran, it's Louis Ferranto, it's Andrew box, it's everybody that we all work together and it's like one. We all share information. Hey, do you see that, instagram?

Do you see this? Do you see that? Well, it's not just it's not just funny, but it's also a time for um partnering with an important organization that I know is close to your heart. So I want to hear a little bit about the Bob Wooders Foundation and how the New York Comedy Festival is partnering with Stand Up for Heroes to help honor our nation's veterans. So stand up the heroes takes place on Monday night, November seven,

at the new David Geffen Theater at Lincoln Center. And of course, you know, Jon Stewart is back again and and so it's Bruce springsteen and we have a number of Lisa's lessengers on the show, Hassam Hussain uh the lumineers. So we have a group. It's a great variety of comedy and music and what we do is that during this event, which it's in its sixteenth year, we come out and try and honor the troops that have fought for us in the last war in Iraq and Iran. So this is to honor them and this is to

raise funds to take care of them. You know, we think the war is over. There's no war over. We have more troops around the world than we've ever had and these people need to be taken care of when they come back. Yeah, see, you know, you think of a name like Jon Stewart, for example, bowl who has just been so active on Capitol Hill in getting benefits passed for for our veterans. Um Does he what role does he take in this? Just in the last thirty seconds that we have with you? Is it one of

an advocate or is it one of a comedian? It's a comedian and advocate and just there to stand up for everybody. I mean Johnsonon a trooper. He's been great. He's just been wonderful. Caroline Hirsch is the founder and owner of Caroline's on Broadway. She's with us in a person in the Bloomberg interactive broker studio. Caroline, good to see you, good to have you back in person. We're

looking forward to the New York Comedy Festival. More than two comedians performing one shows across all five brows November seven through. That is going to do it for Bloomberg Business Week on this Thursday, September twenty two. We'll be back tomorrow. Big Thank you to Katie Greifeld for filling in for Carol Master and a big thank you to the entire team at Bloomberg radio.