January
We started the year with the same plans as usual. Locking in our Festival dates, planning for our Edinburgh preview season. The conversation we always have starts the same, “Are we really going to do another Weekend Festival?”. Spoiler alert, it’s a lot of work, it’s tiring, but we always come back to the same point.. it’s a lot of fun.
We also had three great shows at The Charles Bradlaugh, The Picturedrome and a Charity event For Harry’s Pals in Daventry. We try to avoid too many events this month, many people try the dry January and let’s be honest, we’re all trying to recover from Christmas. Nathan Caton headlined a packed Bradlaugh, one of our favourite acts on the circuit. Nathan is so calm and collected on and off stage, an incredible joke writer, he should definitely be on TV a lot more!
February
In February we did our first event on the grounds of the new Northampton University, booking in three months worth of shows at the Waterside bar. Now the venue is great, it is a really nice room. We booked these shows with the mindset of having a predominantly younger audience, it’s on the Uni campus after all. Unfortunately it didn’t quite play out that way. We did get some great crowds though thanks to some of our regulars, and met some really nice people and worked with brilliant acts we’ve never worked with before. Are the tides shifting, is Tik Tok destroying the art form of stand up comedy? Maybe younger people just don’t care enough about live entertainment, or maybe it was because it wasn’t free. Who knows, if you’ve got the answers, pop them on a postcard.
We also returned to St Neots, a massive shout out to Ryan Mold who has been looking after these nights all year for us doing an amazing job. Every 3 months we end up doing 3 gigs on the first Thursday, myself in Stanwick, Mike at the Picturedrome and Ryan in St Neots. Having acts travel between venues, it’s a comic’s dream and often a promoter’s nightmare. If one show isn’t in sync with another, it can all go pear shaped.
This month was also an interesting one as we’d had conversations with the guys at The Comedy Cow in Milton Keynes about putting on a show at Franklin’s Gardens Stadium. At the time this sounded absolutely insane, putting a stage on the pitch facing one of the stands to potentially a few thousand people. This was the start of our first collaboration…
First show at St Neots in 2023, Ryan Mold, Esther Manito, Fatiha El-Ghorri and Jonny Awsum.
March
In March we were lucky enough to host Josh Pugh’s debut tour show in Northampton. We remember having Josh perform at one of our new act nights at The Lamplighter years ago. We knew this guy would sky rocket eventually, such a great guy and an excellent comic. We did in fact ask Josh if we could be part of his first tour, and to be honest he didn’t have to say yes. Josh was doing much larger rooms at the time, so it was a real pleasure to get this in Northampton.
We also kicked off the first WiFi Wars of the year. These guys will be back in the new year, so check these shows out. They are a lot of fun for all ages! After a short winter break we were back at The Duke of Wellington in Stanwick, who managed to sell out every gig we did there this year. We’d like to thank everyone there as well as Noreen Wallace who originally mentioned comedy to the venue. We’ve had some absolute belters in The Barn this year.
APRIL
April saw us host another debut tour, this time with the brilliant Jacob Hawley. We managed to shift enough tickets to make this a really nice gig. Shoutout to Maggie, one of our regulars who gave us a hilarious moment in the opening section when it was revealed a guy in the audience worked for the Council. Jacob asked whether anyone needed anything sorting whilst we had someone, and Maggie didn’t hesitate! It’s one of those rare gems you get from going to live events where you really had to be there. Jacob enjoyed it so much he wanted to come back. 24th April 2024, tickets on sale NOW.
This month we also took a punt on someone we had never worked with before for a mixed bill event. Jamie Hutchinson. The moment Jamie got started you could see straight away, this guy was going to make something happen. In that room on that night, he made a lot of people remember him. Needless to say at the end of that show we had booked another tour show at The Charles Bradlaugh, more on this in October.
MAY
In May we had two of the best acts around in Matt Bragg and Scott Bennett on the same bill. But we also had one of those moments where you see a newer act you’ve never worked with before and they blow your socks off. Great work James Ellis.
We also had our second night in Daventry for the amazing Harry's Pals charity (www.harryspals.co.uk) headlined by the incredible Alan Hudson of Hudson and Hudson.
JUNE
So in June we did in fact pull off our largest gig to date at Franklin's Gardens Stadium. It was definitely an experience. We were lucky enough to have Al Murray, Milton Jones, Laura Smyth and Lou Conran on the bill. Organising that gig was unlike anything we have done before, and we can reveal that we are currently in talks to put another show on there this year with our friends at The Comedy Cow. We’ve always spoken about how incredible it is being in a room full of people all laughing at the same things, and getting to do that on a much larger scale, is a sight we’ll never forget. Plus it was a lovely summer's day, although a little windy. I remember we had to cable tie all roller banners to posts and gates so we didn’t cause chaos. I think I also broke my own record for the most steps done in a day as I was tasked with walking the acts to the stage. I won’t reveal what that number is, I work in an office 9-5, so the bar is low ok…
The Northampton Comedy Festival. Few months prior, we had a conversation with Northampton Town Centre BID. These guys do great work supporting and developing the town centre. Now we all know there are a lot of things that need improving in Northampton town centre, but there is only so much you can do with limited funding and resources, and we couldn’t be more grateful that the lovely people at BID wanted to get behind us to put on a Northampton Comedy Festival. We put on 8 different preview shows as well as the weekender over June and July. This meant we got to do some new venues, Cheyne Walk Club, VandB, Shipmans and the Northampton Town Centre Hotel, Queen Adelaide, as well as some more familiar ones, Saints Coffee, The Charles Bradlaugh, The Lamplighter and The Black Prince.
It was also around this time we thought our logo was overdue for a makeover. Thanks to Dan Earey for the new design.
JULY
So many Edinburgh Previews this month, we can’t go through them all. But needless to say the Weekender was tiring, it was stressful, but it WAS a lot of fun. There is something really enjoyable in putting on an event that involves people moving between venues, talking about who they’re going to see next. There is a real community feel to it.
We also did a mixed bill at the Picturedrome, the reason we mention this is friend of Crate Tom Toal had recommended one of his friends to us. A guy named Jack Skipper, someone we knew had been making a name for themselves through viral videos during lockdown, and was now taking a plunge into the world of stand up. There was a real moment when myself and Mike looked at each in disbelief when we saw a queue form of people waiting to get selfies with Jack. Fair play to him though, he’s going to be a big name in the future.
Oh yes, we also got to attend an award ceremony. We were finalists for Best Small Business and Best Indoor/Outdoor Activity in the NLife awards. It was very surprising to get the initial nomination, and although we didn’t win, we got some recognition for a hobby that’s taken over our lives. Live comedy is thriving and the more people that know, the more it will grow. So it really helped spread the word.
We held another event with the Comedy Cow at MK11, putting on a work in progress show with Paul Chowdhry. This show sold out in less than 24 hours, the admin was frantic.
Mike thought it would be funny to add how our big summer of comedy ended. We were packing away at Cheyne Walk Club, we’d had 41 acts over the course of a month and a bit doing Edinburgh Previews around Northamptonshire. I was dismantling the stage and as I lifted one of the panels to stack up against the wall I must have tripped. What can only be described as one of those slow motion scenes, my wife thought she’d dive in and take a bullet, attempting to catch me and this stage panel. Only slowing the inevitable even more, as I clatter into her, then onto the floor in a heap of embarrassment. “It’s not all glamour.” - Mike Chase
Also when you book Tom Stade, you have to be prepared to stick around for a bit afterwards.
Photo of Abandoman tearing it up as he always does on our weekender.
AUGUST
Generally August is our month off, a potential opportunity to go up to the Edinburgh Fringe and see EVEN MORE comedy. Not this year though, we opted for more of a standard break after a few busy months. However we did do one night, at the Picturedrome and Stanwick. Opening and closing these venues were Sean McLoughlin and Alistair Barrie. Top drawer acts.
SEPTEMBER
This month saw us start at a new venue, The Plaza in Thrapston. Our first line up included Ninia Benjamin, Ian Stone, Stephen Cookson and Ross Smith. It was as fun as the line up suggests. I ended up having a really fascinating conversation with Ian Stone, who as it turns out after talking about Fleetwood Mac, is a huge music fan. Ian wrote a book about his love for music in the 70’s and more specifically The Jam. It’s called To Be Someone, add it to your bookshelf or Kindle.
Headlining the Bradlaugh was someone we hadn’t seen in a few years. Sarah Keyworth. An absolute gem on the circuit, so effortless in her delivery and so so funny!
Let’s not forget we were also treated to a work in progress show from the wonderful Troy Hawke. Someone we’ve been big fans of now for many years. It’s always exciting to see which direction he’s taking a new show. Always a pleasure to work with and we’re so happy to see him getting so many more opportunities.
Here’s a photo of Ninia Benjamin giving Ross Smith some tips on hugging.
OCTOBER
Jamie Hutchinson’s tour show sold out well in advance in Northampton. A guy who has no TV credits, hasn’t been headlining all the big clubs up and down the country and isn’t with a big agency. Credit to him for making a huge success of his debut tour. With so many new faces coming out to comedy as well, it was a great night.
Oh and let’s not forget the Bradlaugh show. We have tried many times to book Jordan Brookes. A personal favourite, and boy was it worth the persistence. Often conversations occur where people ask about memorable moments and this one has thrown itself into my top 3. (Yes Phil Kay is still in that mix, if you were there then you know why…)
We also did another gig at Vox Box in Hull. Big thanks to Jack Gleadow for looking after this one for us and taking the Crate up North, not physically, unfortunately they don’t let Crates travel alone on the train. There was also our first mixed bill night at VandB, where President Obonjo was on fine form.
NOVEMBER
In 2023 we got the opportunity to host another round of British Comedian Of The Year, but not just any round, this time we got a Semi Final. Standards were high, but the result seemed inevitable in the end. Congratulations Mike Cox for reaching the final and to all of the acts for getting into the Semis, a fun night that really has a bit of something for everyone.
We also witnessed what can only be described as a near death experience, not the kinda death you’d expect the odd comedian to experience on stage, let us explain. When MC Hammersmith is tearing the room up and someone suggests he does a backflip, we don’t necessarily expect a situation to unfold where four grown men rotate another grown man in the air whilst he continues to rap. Yes, that happened, and yes it was hilarious.
New venue was added this month at Newnham Village hall (thank you Rachael Shenton). This gig worked really well, thanks for having us! Shout out to Cornelius, you read that right, Newnham has a Cornelius. The gig was headlined by the sublime Roger Monkhouse. Roger then did another gig for us a week later, in the first week of December. We couldn’t not take this photo. (Right to left, Roger Monkhouse, Kent Cameron, Peter Teckman, Stuart Hogben).
DECEMBER
We ended the year on a real high. All of the December shows were surprisingly nice! December has a reputation on the comedy scene for potentially more ‘lively’ crowds. Primarily due to the fact you have more work do’s and people going out to shows who wouldn’t ordinarily go, and of course people tend to drink a lot more around this time of year. BUT, overall it was great!
Quick mention from our last gig of the year at the Charles Bradlaugh, we opted to book 2 middle 10’s, which we don’t do very often, and Nuala Ryan and Jin Hao Li did a fantastic job. We hope to see those guys smashing the comedy clubs next year.
We decided to have our festival conversation a bit earlier than usual, and guess what. We’re going again… See you next year! (July 20th & 21st, tickets on sale now)
To all our regulars and helpers (Iain Simpkins, Stuart Hogben, Pete Teckman and Ryan Mold), you keep this club alive, so thank you, you absolute legends. Thanks to all the venues we’ve worked with in 2023 and of course all the acts that have travelled far and wide to entertain our crowds. To each and every person who shares a post, tells a friend, buys a ticket, spreads the word in any way. We can’t thank you enough.
Now onto the next one. See you next year!
Kj & Mike
P.S. Let’s not forget our partners who to be fair, put up with an awful lot. Listening to us rabbit on about comedy, helping us out at events, giving us the support and motivation we need to make this ‘hobby’ a success.
From left to right (Paul Revill, Jin Hao Li, Josh Pugh, Nuala Ryan, Mike Chase, Kj Bradshaw)
