Just for Laughs: Bill Burr to play Bell Centre, Andrew ‘Dice’ Clay to get Nasty

Bill Burr. (Photo courtesy of Just for Laughs)

MONTREAL -- Bill Burr, one of comedy’s top stars and most successful podcasters, will be playing the biggest stage in Montreal at Just for Laughs this summer: the Bell Centre.

Headlining the home of the Habs will be an irony that likely won’t be lost on Burr, a Bostonian and die-hard Bruins fan who loves to gleefully trash-talk long-suffering (especially in recent years) fans of the Bleu-Blanc-Rouge whenever he performs in Montreal.

Burr’s podcast, the literally titled Bill’s Monday Morning Podcast, is one of the most popular of the many comedy podcasts to have emerged in recent years, and he has also found success on screens big and small, including his animated Netflix series F is for Family, the fourth season of which is currently in production.

Burr will play the Bell Centre on Saturday, July 25. Tickets range from $52.25 to $135 and go on pre-sale at noon today (Feb. 4) and will be available to the general public at 9 a.m. Thursday (Feb. 6) at hahaha.com

The relentlessly raunchy Nasty Show, one of the most reliably popular Just for Laughs staples, will have an 11-show run at the 2020 edition of the Montreal festival, and organizers on Tuesday announced that one of the comedy stars on the Nasty Show marquee will be none other than Andrew ‘Dice’ Clay.

Clay stormed his way to the top of the stand-up comedy heap in the 1980s with provocative material that made him as controversial as he was popular. (And he was wildly popular, becoming the frst comedian to sell out back-to-back nights at Madison Square Garden in New York City). While Clay hasn’t reached those heights in recent years, he has kept busy with stand-up tours, specials and acting work, in roles both comedic and dramatic.

The Nasty Show’s 11 performances will run between July 15 and July 25 at MTelus. Tickets vary in price for weekday and weekend shows and go on pre-sale at noon today (Feb. 4) and will be available to the general public at 9 a.m. Thursday (Feb. 6) at hahaha.com

Finally, Just for Laughs also announced Tuesday that its other perennially popular - and longest-running - club series, The Ethnic Show, will feature 19 performances between July 8 and July 23 at Club Soda and M Telus. Ethnic Show performers are expected to be announced in the coming weeks. Dates and ticket information can be found at hahaha.com as well, where tickets for the series also go on pre-sale at noon today (Feb. 4) and will be available to the general public at 9 a.m. Thursday (Feb. 6)

This year’s Just For Laughs, the 38th edition of what remains the world’s biggest comedy festival, will run from July 8 to July 26 in various venues throughout Montreal.