On the Mic with Mike Peters

Send us Fan Mail Vinnie Paulino has been doing stand-up for about 20 years. He did his first open mic in Texas before coming to Rochester. He started working the clubs in town in 2007 and has been with Comedy at the Carlson since it opened in 2016. He and one of the owners, Mark Ippolito, are running the Rochester Comedy Festival, which begins on Thursday, July 16 and going through Sunday, July 19...

Send us Fan Mail Rachel Hendricks has been studying science since she was at Shippensburg University. She was active in politics and had a good job in Pottsville, Pa. Then she enrolled in a stand-up class and developed a new interest. She's one of the better "younger" comedians in the Philadelphia suburbs -- proving it by reaching the finals of SoulJoels' Best of the Burbs cont...

Send us Fan Mail DJ Dangler has spent the last 20 years working his way from New York City to Los Angeles, telling jokes wherever he can. He graduated from Purdue and wrote his first jokes while working at an accountant's office. He found a place on stage. He's back in Indianapolis and is a writer on the Bob and Tom Show, where his jokes are heard by millions of people every day. He also...

Send us Fan Mail Jordan Berry is an up-and-coming comedian from Lexington, Ky. He moved to Louisville recently to put more time into stand-up. He's a regular at the clubs in the area and is producing the Spotless Clean Comedy Show at The Spot Comedy Club in Lexington. He's only two years in, but he's already performed all over the Midwest and is about to cross Phoenix and Atlanta of...

Send us Fan Mail Johnny Mocny spent the first eight years of his comedy career in Lansing, Mich., traveling the state and working all over the Midwest. He started coming to Chicago regularly in 2025 and moved there in January, joining his friend and Rocket Force Podcast co-host, Louis Michael. Mocny has opened for Sam Tallent, Roy Wood, Jr. and has been hosting the We Are Movies podcast since 2019...

Send us Fan Mail Tony Sykowski grew up in Hadley, Mass., and began doing sketch and improv in Chicago. After five years there, he came to New York City and started traveling up the stand-up ladder in 2018. He's performed at the Asheville Comedy Festival and the Tiny Cupboard Penthouse. He's headlining the opening night of the Crooked Mouth Comedy Festival on Oct. 15.   Follow Tony Sykows...

Send us Fan Mail Bob McClure likes comedy and baseball. It's tough to know which one he likes more, though those 1990s Indians teams grabbed hold pretty tightly. He graduated college with a theater degree and moved to Los Angeles in 2017. He got a crash course in stand-up comedy and was able to get regular work before coming back to Akron, Ohio. He's a big part of the Cleveland chapter o...

Send us Fan Mail Eric Camp has been doing standup in the Binghamton, N.Y., area for two years. He played in punk bands growing up and made fun of the other bands and scene kids from the stage. He started to go to local comedy shows and attended the open mics for about a year as an audience member before taking the stage. The study time has paid off because he's one of the hardest-working come...

Send us Fan Mail Aaron Richter did his first stand-up set in Guatemala, like most comedians. He picked it up again when he got to Chicago and is now in West Lebanon, N.H. He runs a pair of open mics and produces shows at Bright Side Brewing in West Lebanon. He's also a music director and an organist at his church. And he might be a future TV producer. We'll see.  Follow Aaron Richter:  I...

Send us Fan Mail Chris Nakis has been all over the country doing stand-up. Well, he's been on both coasts. That good enough. He started in Boston 14 years ago before moving to Portland, Ore. After five years there, he and his wife moved to the Pittsburgh area. A Cleveland native, Chris released his full special, "Gonna Wanna," in 2024 and is planning to put out a shorter one soon. I...

Send us Fan Mail Tony Rodriguez loves the Greensboro, N.C., comedy scene. He switched from music to stand-up seven years ago. After a rough start, he started to get the hang of his new hobby and is trying to make a career out of it. He helps run The Sidewalk Crew production company. He's a regular at the Idiot Box comedy club and is going to be part of the North Carolina Comedy Festival betwe...

Send us Fan Mail Michael Harrison started doing stand-up in Saskatchewan when he was 17 years old. Unless you count the time he roasted his uncle when he was 9. He moved to Toronto, then found his footing in Edmonton before going back to Toronto, where he got Just For Laughs. In 2016, he moved to New York City and he doesn't plan on leaving. His special, Overcritical, is on Amazon Prime and h...

Send us Fan Mail Julianna Wiggins is a comedian in Ypsilanti, Mich., where she's splitting time between the stage, the classroom and the rugby field. She's at the University of Michigan, working on her doctorate. Her dissertation on the Latina comedy scene in Chicago is due soon. She plays bass in a punk band and plays and coaches rugby. She runs a Femme Feedback mic in Ann Arbor and is...

Send us Fan Mail Cat Mattis started doing stand-up in September of 2022 while working on a Master's degree at SUNY Brockport. It's definitely a unique way to stand out in the Buffalo comedy scene. She got her start in Rochester, but moved northwest at the end of 2025. She worked for Audacy radio while in college and launched the Sarcasm Society podcast in January and is working her way t...

Send us Fan Mail Nicky D is a very funny comedian in Cleveland. Despite the crippling anxiety, he's been doing stand-up for 13 years and is working himself all across the northern part of the country. He began his career in Chicago and considers himself, in hindsight, the worst comedian there for a few years. But with the help of some friends and a regular show, he began to pull himself out o...

Send us Fan Mail Adam Pasi moved around the world with his military family until finally settling down in Portland, Ore., when he was 20 years old. Always the funny and attention-seeking friend, he started doing stand-up in 2012 when he was 32. He's one of the best in the scene now. He was on two episodes of Portlandia, has a Don't Tell Comedy set and is opening for Kyle Kinane. Things a...

Send us Fan Mail Skyler Bolks has done stand-up in 37 states over the last 10 years. He played basketball at Mount Mary University in Yankton, S.D., and he's found the competition he needs with himself on stage. He's one of the best comedians working in South Dakota. He did a bike tour across the state last year and has another one planned for 2026. Just look for a 6-foot-7 dude on a bik...

Send us Fan Mail Ben Compton is one of the funniest comedians working in Hattiesburg, Miss. He started doing stand-up in 2014 and found himself on Hart of the City with Kevin Hart in 2017. He's learned a lot since them -- like always listen to your wife. He's got a wife, three daughters and two poodles, but doesn't even have a deck anymore. He's helping to run Live at the Litte...

Send us Fan Mail Patrick McKinstry started doing stand-up in New York City in 2016. He commuted from Connecticut for a year before realizing there's comedy happening everywhere. He's in Norwich, Conn., now and works regularly in the Boston scene. He's an excellent writer and is planning an East Coast trip later in 2026. And if comedy doesn't work out, there's always some d...

Send us Fan Mail Sam Rager started doing stand-up in 2012 during her senior year at Wayne State University. She's a regular face around the Detroit comedy scene and released her debut album, Trigger Warning, in 2019. Her special, "Hot Dog Hands," is streaming on Amazon Prime, Roku, Gumroad and Fawesome. TV. She released the album on Burn This Records and it's playing on Apple M...

Send us Fan Mail Sarina Ochoa is a comedian in Albuquerque, N.M. She's been at it two years and is helping out with the 6th annual Albuquerque Funny Fiesta, which is happening between March 2 and March 8 -- headlined by Marc Maron and featuring about 110 comedians with New Mexico ties. Sarina used to fight in MMA before taking comedy stage. She still gets bruises, but these ones are easier to...

Send us Fan Mail Kai VonDoom only wanted to do karaoke, but she accidentally signed her name on the open-mic list and changed her life. Over the last eight years, she's become one of Rochester's best comedians. She runs the Don't Tell Comedy shows in Rochester with Cindy Arena and they had Mark Normand perform there in 2025. Kai doesn't mind speaking her mind, but she won'...

Send us Fan Mail Rollin Atkinson spent three years doing improv in Boston before the world shut down in 2020. When it opened up, he started doing stand-up. He met Josh Mandl at a mic and they'd been working together since. They launched the Boston Comedy Club, which became Next Stop Comedy. Now they're producing shows at more than 400 locations all over the country. Just 31 years old, Ro...

Send us Fan Mail Mike Stewart started doing stand-up in Ithaca in 2021. Fresh out of the pandemic and going through a divorce, he began writing jokes and took to the stage. He's got an interesting backstory that he's only just started to dive into for material. Also, he runs for fun. Just disgusting. He runs a show at Hopshire Farm and Brewery in Freeville, N.Y., and he's got his ha...

Send us Fan Mail Greg Owens started doing stand-up 14 years ago in Rochester, N.Y. He only did a contest each of his first two years, then a couple of showcases before really diving into it. Since the pandemic, he's performed all over New York and Pennsylvania. He's been at Soul Joel's in Royersford, Pa., and the Comedy at the Carlson in Rochester. Always a Philly guy, Owens will be...