Bill Burr, Dave Chappelle headline Fastball Comedy Festival in Mesa

The Chicago Cubs’ spring training venue is welcoming a different lineup of heavy-hitters this weekend. The inaugural Fastball Comedy Festival makes its debut at Sloan Park in Mesa on Oct. 17 and 18, including headliners Bill Burr, Tom Segura, Dave Chappelle, Antonio Santino and Rachel Feinstein, among others. 

“We have been thinking for a while about something we could do (at Sloan Park) that could be intentional and ours, not an outside touring company, and we all came to the realization that we as a team loved standup. So we started thinking last year about how we could make a large comedy show happen, and now here we are,” Justin LaLone explains. LaLone is the director of ticketing and business operations for the Cubs.

The two-day comedy festival, the first of what Sloan Park hopes is a recurring event, is showcasing four hours of comedic talent each night, including local comedians. 

With such an array of diverse — and often controversial — headliners, LaLone expects the crowd to be a true representation of Arizona’s wildly varying demographics. 

“Arizona should be purple, just like its sunsets,” says headliner Bill Burr. 

“It’s really a beautiful state, and I could see myself living out here. Not in the city, but also not too far out, because … you know. Say what you will about white supremacists, I don’t agree with their worldview, but man do they do love a good vista,” Burr quips. 

And while Burr posits himself as an equal-opportunity comedian that satirizes both sides, another festival headliner, Dave Chappelle, has come under intense scrutiny for his remarks that many perceive as punching down against the transgender community. 

Chappelle was unavailable for comment, but festival promoter LaLone explained that the decision-making process for the billing of the festival was intentional. 

“We started with a list of about a dozen comedians that we thought would be a good fit for our inaugural year. Given the spread of the talent, there will be a large mix of people, and all types of people represented. There’s more that unites us than divides us, and at the end of the day we wanted people who the public loved, and were incredibly good at making people laugh,” LaLone says. 

For headliner Bill Burr, being “anti-political” does not necessarily mean staying out of the fray, but rather pointing out the hypocrisy in the two-party system. 

“I try to make it us against them rather than this stupid politics thing, because that’s the misdirection,” Burr explains. “They don’t want us in the same boat. At the end of the day, we should be holding corporations and politicians accountable. The Ed Sheeran stuff, those two guys aren’t the problem. What about the people with the missiles? What about the kids being killed by the military? Nah, blame the guy with the ukulele!” 

Headliners aside, the Fastball team sought out ways to expand on the comedy festival experience and added two nights of local comedic talent on a second stage. 

“My two favorite things about going to a comedy show are, of course, seeing the main talent, but also getting there early and having a beer or two and getting excited about the sets and catching the openers,” LaLone recalls.

To encourage and entertain early entry, the festival has designed the first two hours to be filled with local comedians such as Jackie Tinsley and (Phoenix New Times contributor) Anwar Newton.

Tinsley explains that she saw the initial promotion for the festival about two months ago and was struck by the talent, and then, a month later, she got connected with the festival. 

“I was looped in (to the festival plans for a local stage) and was stunned. When I saw the promotions, I thought, ‘What more could they possibly need?’ so it was cool just to be taken into consideration. I actually had a trip planned for this weekend, but this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so I had to make some adjustments!” Tinsley says. 

Another local comedian, Anwar Newton, had just finished taping his first self-produced hour of material at Thunderbird Lounge, and is often seen producing a monthly concept show entitled “Please Don’t Bomb” at The Dirty Drummer, where he FaceTimes his comedian friends live during the set and forces them to perform. 

“I honestly don’t know how these things come about. I just hope people are excited to see four hours of comedy in one night,” Newton notes. 

As regards the controversial headliners, Newton isn’t fazed. 

“The great thing about this festival is that I’m not sharing the stage with them, so if people have beef with Chappelle, that’s not on us — we’re on the second stage! All people should know is that I don’t make jokes about trans people, and I’ve never been to Riyadh. I have been to Kingman, Arizona, though, which is a problem in and of itself,” Newton jokes. 

Newton’s comedy style differs from the biggest names on the bill, who tend to eschew crowd work.

“The headliners don’t do a ton, if any, crowd work. It’s showcase comedy, which is great, but that stuff for me personally bores me, so I like to do weird stuff, so we’ll see how that goes,” Newton says. 

For Tinsley, getting a feel for the vibe of the crowd is going to be key. 

“The biggest place I have ever performed was downtown at the Orpheum (Theatre), so this will be a huge difference. The crowd sometimes dictates my material because I want to make sure things I reference will make sense,” she says. “For example, I can’t talk to a crowd of people 40-plus about TikTok trends, and I can’t talk about the pain of open enrollment to 20-year-olds. I want to bring my best jokes that can grab the attention of the audience.”

LaLone is focused on emulating an intimate comedy club experience.

“We want you to feel like you are at the biggest smallest comedy club in the country. Our main stage is at second base, which means that every person that has a viewing area has a view of second base. A baseball field is large, but the infield is not, so I think it will feel smaller,” he notes. 

With the lights cut and the stage backlit, LaLone hopes that the small-venue comedy vibes will resonate deep into the outfield. 

He adds that the Chicago Cubs brand is built around prioritizing guest experiences, and that the inaugural Fastball Comedy Festival should feel like an extension of that hospitality. 

For a Red Sox fan such as Burr, the venue doesn’t seem to faze him, even playing on the Cubs practice field. 

“The Sox and the Cubs, we kind of had the same issue all through the years. It’s fine. … It’s not like they won’t get my jokes, you know?” Burr notes.

LaLone and his promotional team hope that the same spirit applies to the opening evenings of Fastball Comedy Festival. 

“When you get on-site, and it’s about to be sunset, grab a beer, it’s 5:45 in the park, sit down and listen to Jackie telling some jokes — it’s going to be a great four hours,” he says. 

Fastball Comedy Festival. 5 p.m. doors, 6 p.m. show, Saturday, Oct. 17, and Sunday, Oct. 18. Sloan Park, 2330 W. Rio Salado Parkway, Mesa. Tickets start at $79.