Comedy - Crom Comedy Festival flies south

Spring in Atlanta brings three things: pollen, baseball, and an incessant storm of festivals. While every food imaginable gets its own day to price gouge in the park, this year brings in a brand-new festival actually worth your buck when the Crom Comedy Festival swings into town. After performing around the country a bit, comedian Ian Douglas Terry created the Crom Comedy Fest in his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska, as a way to bring together his newfound favorite comics in one place. “The original fest in Omaha was made up of a lineup of the few people we had met doing stand-up around the country that shared the same ethos as we did,” Terry says. “Crom was created to bring those people together to have a fun weekend and make our friends all be friends with each other.”

From humble DIY roots, Crom has since expanded to include more comics over the years as well as splintering off into satellite fests in Denver and, for the first time this year, Atlanta.

“Atlanta has always held a special place in my heart,” Terry says, noting Atlanta’s spin could be called Crom South. “I lived in Kennesaw for two years and know that Atlanta has one of the best comedy scenes in the nation, hands down.”

As an independent DIY festival, operated by comics rather than corporations, Crom dumps the industry vibe held by others and adopts more of a summer camp feel. The fest is less about showing off for agents and casting directors, and instead focuses on providing quality shows that are fun for both the audience and performers. “Growing up in the punk/DIY scene, community building was huge,” Terry says. “Crom is still very DIY and very focused on presenting diverse lineups and spreading friendship far and wide while showcasing scenes that we really love and think are great.”

That independent spirit has largely been responsible for the recent rise of the Atlanta comedy scene. Both Crom South venues, the Hangar and WonderRoot, are community-driven DIY art spaces responsible for birthing a mountain of shows integral to the scene such as the Hangar’s Thursday night mic and WonderRoot’s WonderComedy series. You have to fall down a hundred times before you learn to walk, having ample spaces a comic can try and fail till they hone their skills is what breeds the next great comedian. Places like the Hangar and WonderRoot that focus on community more than profits is what’s made Atlanta one of the top scenes in the nation bursting with underrated talent. “Atlanta has so many amazing indie shows that it really fits the vibe of the fest,” Atlanta comedian and Crom South venue coordinator Andrew Michael says. “Showcasing two of those venues will just be a small glimpse into what this city has to offer.”

For two days, Crom South will roll out eight shows featuring 40 comics from Los Angeles, New York, Denver, Austin, Chicago, and beyond including notable locals Ismael Loutfi, Cherith Fuller, Will Copeland, and Samm Severin.

“Crom is going to be a really great grab bag of Atlanta and national comics,” Severin says.

Each show’s diverse lineup boasts one of three top-shelf headliners including the unpredictable king of one-liners Ben Kronberg, African-immigrant Solomon Georgio, and “Dope Queen” Phoebe Robinson.

Robinson and Georgio bring a particularly unique perspective to Crom South. Self-described as “black Daria aka Blaria,” Robinson (“Late Night with Seth Meyers,” “Broad City”) frankly talks about race, gender, and pop culture on stage as well as on her podcast/live show, “Two Dope Queens,” with “The Daily Show’s” Jessica Williams.

It’ll be quite fitting to have Georgio come to Atlanta, one of the cities profiled in the new Vice show “Flophouse.” Like the Hangar, Georgio’s garage serves as the setting for the Los Angeles edition of “Flophouse.” Georgio, an African immigrant, is also openly gay — most days. “I just took a break for Martin Luther King Day,” Solomon says in one bit. “Sometimes you just want to be black and nothing else.”

Accompanied by hidden gems of the East and West coasts such as Barbara Gray, Kate Willett, Eric Dadourian, Odinaka Ezeokoli, Janine Brito, and Jake Head, each show is punctuated by the kind of unsung voices that hold up Atlanta’s alternative comedy scene. Bringing these comics to the forefront for a very budget-friendly price of $10 for show is a breath of fresh air and the right shot in the arm for Atlanta’s burgeoning sanctuary for comics.