If it’s not for lack of consistency or because Murfreesboro has grown a reputation among touring comedians (John Mulaney Shares His Best Heckle Story), it could simply be the timing.
In Murfreesboro’s comedy-scene history of recent memory, there has been Wall Street’s Saturday Night “P.O.P. Comedy Hour” that ran through 2016, and Ambrose Jones III of Last Comic Standing rolled through with local stand-up James Victor Cherry that one night (Feb. 19, 2016). Mayday ran a couple of comedy nights in recent times: one at its Septemberfest in 2017 featuring area comic Nick Bush, as well as a Comedy by the Pint! showcase in June 2021 pulled together by Murfreesboro comedian Matt Taylor. Taylor and Bush went on to host Liquid Smoke’s Smokes and Jokes series in 2021. And, we’ve had pop-up nights, such as when local performance group Radical Arts presented a 2019 comedy open mic night.
But now, for the past few months at least, Murfreesboro’s The Holistic Connection has presented “Funny Fridays,” a weekly comedy showcase and open mic with host Willi Will, which has been a growing slurry of area comedians workshopping some interesting evenings hosted by local stand-up and Holistic Connection clerk William “Willi Will” Bennett, a Nashville-raised kid who attended MTSU.
The evenings are set up for nurturing a potential comedy collective and have been attended by generationally diverse audiences, according to Bennett.
Funny Fridays’ roster is an impressive local run-through. Since the showcase’s opening night on Feb. 10, it has involved local stand-ups Mathew Blevins, Comedian Chef Greg, James Victor Cherry, Nic Weir, Logan Teichmann, Joey Goodsong, Tony Capobianco, John Dollar, Marianna Barksdale, Kelsey Dixon, Nick Goulooze, Susan Gilbert, Miriam Kirk, Allie Thomas, Marcus Quit Playin’ Jones and Takela Room.
The Pulse knocked on Willi Will’s backyard window to learn more about what’s going on at The Holistic Connection on Friday nights.
Murfreesboro Pulse: How’d last Friday night go?
Willi Will: It went phenomenal . . . the biggest audience we’ve had so far was the fourth week; the fourth week, in my opinion, is when you decide [if] this [was] just a month-long deal where, ‘Okay, we had fun. This is cool,’ or ‘Is this something we can continue ongoing?” Because it was the biggest audience we’ve had so far, that let me know that this is something that could, hopefully . . . be an ongoing thing. It’s a pretty good spot and it’s a lot of nice people.
(Bennett takes a beat.)
Whenever I first started doing comedy in Nashville, I almost made a fool out of myself because . . . I was seeking out comedians. Getting their contacts, networking.
And I guess the comedy scene, especially in Nashville, is a lot more laid back. So, I’m over here running around trying to get everyone’s contact numbers while everyone else is just kinda hanging out, y’know. Just letting there be cliques if there’s going to be cliques [i.e., “laid back”].
So, by laid back, I mean there’s a lack of professionalism. It seems like there’s a lot of people doing it as a hobby, and even the people who say that they’re doing it as a career don’t seem to be very serious about it. A lot of people think that if you’re doing comedy, you’re not really a serious person; your career’s probably not going to be that serious; you’re just making jokes and trying to make money from it. I think a lot of comedians lean into that. . . . But, there’s a few. You have your teams that you travel with, you are looking for a “clique” at these venues because you’re trying to see who you could go on tour with, who could be part of your comedy collective, y’know. So, it’s understandable why it would get clique-y. A lot of older comedians talk about how it’s not “the most friendly comedy scene.” But, I love the Nashville comedy scene.
My favorite place to go, and also the first open mic that I went to, was Twin Kegs II [a blues and comedy-night dive bar on Hermitage Avenue in Nashville]. Everyone’s there to just have a good time. Someone might say something out of line, but . . . don’t laugh at it, y’knowwhatI’msaying? We’re all watching them bomb because they’re saying some whack shit . . . but, you don’t need to gossip to your crew about it or shun them or something . . .
The crowd is part of Funny Fridays, too, obviously, as comedians use audience reactions to help form their stage act, based on reaction. You’ve got a sentient crowd over there?
I think that’s exactly what comedy is supposed to be, a conversation. We’re supposed to have the feeling we’re all just hanging out. I’m right here telling you my opinions on things, and stories, and we’re just hanging out. I’m making you laugh, the same as if we were all just kicking it, and one of us starts telling a story real quick. We’re not all going to quietly sit and listen and wait for you to finish for our questions. We’re going to have reactions and all that in between and that only makes it better. So, when you have a crowd that’s conscious of the fact that audience participation and audience reaction is just as important as the jokes that are being told on stage . . . it can be a good thing.
On your first flyer, those are the guys who started with you?
The first time that I did Funny Fridays, I had James Victor Cherry come down and headline. He used to open for Kat Williams, so it was amazing I got him down here. He was one of the first people to really show me some support after my first mic set.
[The first flyer] was Matthew Blevins, Chef Greg, and James Victor Cherry, I think. Matthew Blevins did another set this past Friday (March 3). And then Chef Greg has been down two or three Fridays, and he brings his food truck. So, that’s always super fun.
Twin Kegs is a phenomenal place; Kelsey Dixon hosts the open mic down there. I had him headlining. He’s phenomenal. He’s been on at Zanies a few times.
I’m loving this local comedy night developing as it is.
I want to get as many comedians down here as possible.
If you headline at Zanies, you get to choose the acts that go on before you. Usually it’s about three to five [openers]. If I [were] to [headline] Zanies, and it was up to me to create a team, There [are] definitely a few people that I would definitely go on tour with, or have for opening . . . part of my comedy collective. For the most part, I would love to surround myself with people my age—Thomas Leon, Miriam Kirk, Marcus Lustig. These are all people that I would want to be in a collective with. What I’m doing now is I’m circling back around. “Who are the individuals that have given me opportunities?” “Who has ridden with me to shows?” “Who has given me critiques?” Y’know, mentors. This is me circling back around and being like, “Hey, I can’t necessarily pay you, yet. I don’t have a lot to give, but I have this platform.
I want there to be about six to ten Fridays that we’ve done, and then I could take [The Holistic Connection] all the numbers compared to the Fridays before. I can show them all the footage, how we fill it out, and be like “we’re making this much more money than we would have without Funny Fridays. Clearly, it’s lucrative. I know you guys can afford to pay the comedians.” That’s just the goal, right now, is to get the featured comedians paid.
Still it’s been a phenomenal time and every comedian that’s come down has been like, ‘This is an amazing time, amazing crowd, great people, I’m down to come back anytime.” Once they come down and see the crowd and the opportunity, it’s like “Yeah, I’m down here for free, but this is good exposure. This is good outreach.”
That’s awesome.
It’s a comedian showcase. We’re showcasing comedians from Nashville and surrounding areas, and we have an open mic to bring the community in . . . This is for people. Bringing comedy to the community.
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The Holistic Connection Presents Funny Fridays: A Weekly Comedy Showcase and Open-Mic with Host Willi Will every Friday evening. The Holistic Connection, a local, legal THC and cannabis dispensary, is located at 527 N. Thompson Ln., Murfreesboro. For more information, find William Andrew Bennett on Facebook or call The Holistic Connection at 615-603-7356.
