After 12 years of sold-out shows and performances across the United States, Canada and India, Desi Comedy Fest – America’s biggest South Asian comedy festival – is coming to Austin for the first time.
The festival takes the stage at The Creek and The Cave on Thursday, October 15 at 8:00 PM, bringing together six South Asian comedians for a night of stand-up comedy performed entirely in English.
The Austin lineup features Abhay Nadkarni, Anthony Pappaly, Ashley Sharma, Samson Koletkar, Sanjay ... view more »
After 12 years of sold-out shows and performances across the United States, Canada and India, Desi Comedy Fest – America’s biggest South Asian comedy festival – is coming to Austin for the first time.
The festival takes the stage at The Creek and The Cave on Thursday, October 15 at 8:00 PM, bringing together six South Asian comedians for a night of stand-up comedy performed entirely in English.
The Austin lineup features Abhay Nadkarni, Anthony Pappaly, Ashley Sharma, Samson Koletkar, Sanjay Manaktala and Vishal Krishnasami, combining nationally touring comedians with two familiar faces from Austin’s own comedy scene.
ANTHONY PAPPALY is an Austin-based stand-up comedian, writer and sketch comedy creator. A military veteran with a sharp, absurd sense of humor, he has performed across the U.S. and overseas, while his stand-up clips and sketches have accumulated millions of views online. He has opened for major headliners including Ronny Chieng, Fahim Anwar and Che Durena.
ASHLEY SHARMA is an Austin-based stand-up comedian who has performed at SF Sketchfest and regularly hosted at Cap City Comedy Club. She is also co-host of the comedy podcast Scumberparty. Balancing careers in both comedy and nursing, Ashley brings her unique perspective to stages throughout Austin and beyond.
SANJAY MANAKTALA is an Indian-American comedian, writer and tech veteran who helped pioneer India’s modern stand-up comedy scene after moving to Bangalore in 2010. Known for his conversational takes on technology, Indian-American life, corporate culture, marriage and everyday absurdities, Sanjay has performed thousands of shows around the world. His stand-up, sketches and digital content have amassed more than 45 million views.
VISHAL KRISHNASAMI was born in India, raised in North Carolina and is now based in New York City. His comedy draws on growing up in a deeply religious, conservative family, breaking away from that upbringing and navigating life in the American South. He has appeared on Amazon Prime and performed at The Stand, New York Comedy Club and Don’t Tell Comedy.
ABHAY NADKARNI, born in Delhi and raised in Doha and Bangalore, brings a global perspective to American absurdity. He was featured as a New Face at Montreal’s Just For Laughs, has performed at the Melbourne Comedy Festival and has more than 100,000 followers online. His debut comedy special, Brown Jesus, is streaming on Amazon Prime.
SAMSON KOLETKAR blends his Indian upbringing, Jewish roots and American life into a cerebral and refreshingly clean style of comedy. He has performed across the U.S., Canada and India and has been featured on NPR, NBC, CBS, NDTV, The Times of India, Ha’aretz and more.
Founded in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2014 by Abhay Nadkarni and Samson Koletkar, Desi Comedy Fest was created to showcase South Asian comedic talent and bring audiences together through laughter. What began as a Bay Area festival has grown over the past 12 years, with sold-out shows throughout the region and performances across the United States, Canada and India.
The Austin performance is part of Desi Comedy Fest’s first-ever Texas tour, which opens in Houston on October 14, arrives in Austin on October 15 and concludes in Dallas on October 17.
“Austin has such a strong comedy culture, so bringing Desi Comedy Fest here felt like an important part of our first Texas tour,” said festival co-creator Abhay Nadkarni. “Having Anthony and Ashley representing the Austin comedy scene alongside comedians coming in from around the country makes this show especially exciting for us.”
“Desi Comedy Fest has always been about showing that there isn’t just one South Asian story or one South Asian sense of humor,” said festival co-creator Samson Koletkar. “This lineup really represents that. Six comedians with very different backgrounds and perspectives get to share one stage, and Austin is exactly the kind of comedy town where we wanted to bring that experience.”
Desi Comedy Fest brings together comedians from across the South Asian diaspora, with comedy spanning family, relationships, immigrant experiences, culture, careers, identity, religion and the everyday absurdities of American life.
Whether you’re Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Nepali, Sri Lankan – or simply a fan of great stand-up comedy – Desi Comedy Fest offers a night of diverse voices, relatable stories and one common goal: making you laugh.
All performances are in English.
URLs:
Tickets: https://go.evvnt.com/3839194-0?pid=11038
Facebook: https://go.evvnt.com/3839194-1?pid=11038
Instagram: https://go.evvnt.com/3839194-2?pid=11038
YouTube: https://go.evvnt.com/3839194-3?pid=11038
Website: https://go.evvnt.com/3839194-4?pid=11038
Date and Time: On Thursday October 15, 2026 at 20:00 – 21:30
Venue details: The Creek and The Cave, 611 East 7th Street, Austin, Texas, 78701, United States
Category: Arts | Performing Arts | Comedy
Artists: Samson Koletkar, Abhay Nadkarni, Sanjay Manaktala, Ashley Sharma, Vishal Krishnasami, Anthony Pappaly
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