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The Big Sky Comedy Festival Isn't Just A Great Show, It's A Stepping Stone To Success
Lukas Seely is, in his own words, "Billings Billings." His connection to this city is deep.
Seely's parents were Laotian refugees who settled in Billings after their immigration was sponsored by St. Luke's Episcopal Church. Almost as soon as they arrived in Billings, Seely was born.
"My parents hooked up on the way to America," he laughed. "Literally, if you look at the timeline from when we got here to when I was born, it's nine months."
Seely went to Broadwater Elementary, then Lewis and Clark Middle, then Senior High, and eventually Rocky Mountain College, where he graduated with a degree in business management and marketing. He also dabbled in theater classes, and was "running back and benchwarmer" on the school's football team.
Lukas Seeley is one of the organizers of the Big Sky Comedy Festival.
Courtesy photoThe football career didn't pan out. But Seely did learn one big thing at Rocky.
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He was funny. Very funny. He still remembers exactly where on campus he was when he wrote his first joke. The first time he got on stage was at Dr. Feelgood's, a nightclub at the corner of Regal Street and Industrial Avenue. It's since been demolished, and the location is now home to strip mall.
Seely's comedy chops outlasted the building. A 2003 picture from the Gazette archives shows Seely, still going by his birth name Luke Keutla at the time, telling a joke to his Rocky football teammates after practice. He's still in full pads, hair slick with sweat.
A 2003 Gazette file photo shows Lukas Seeley trying out one of his jokes on his Rocky Mountain College football teammates after a team practice.
BOB ZELLAR, Billings GazetteBut his audience is cracking up. One player behind Seely is doing that thing where he's laughing so hard he's looking away, like he's seeing something so funny his body isn't sure what to do.
The photo was taken because Seely was about to head to Denver to compete in a comedy competition. He made that 500 mile journey multiple times in college, heading to the big city to perform at open mics and anywhere else he could.
After he graduated from Rocky in 2004, Seely headed to Seattle and eventually became a full time stand-up comic in Los Angeles. But he never forgot Billings.
The Big Sky Comedy Festival is Sept. 20-23.
Courtesy photoHe's produced shows in the area for well over a decade, and used to fly back every month or so. The commute is easier now, since Seely relocated back to Billings at the beginning of the COVID pandemic. He hasn't been producing as many local shows, but he's been working on pitching a sitcom, and he can often be found working at his parents' food truck Khanthaly's Eggrolls.
But Seely's greatest contribution to the Billings comedy scene is probably the Big Sky Comedy Festival, which he started in 2012 along with fellow Billings-raised comic Auggie Smith and real estate agent Wayne Wilcox (Seely's day job is also selling real estate for Century 21).
Auggie Smith is one of the organizers of the Big Sky Comedy Festival.
Courtesy photoThe festival is back this year for the first time since 2019, bringing laughs to five venues around town. Things started in earnest on Wednesday, but the meat of the competition kicks off Thursday night at the Red Door and the High Horse, and continues Friday at those same venues, before ending with a big finale at the Alberta Bair Theater.
There are two different types of performances. There's what Seely called "novelty shows," one-offs which are just a chance to have some fun. But the real draw of the Big Sky Comedy Festival is the competition.
Audience members laugh during the Big Sky Comedy Festival at Babcock Theatre on Oct. 13, 2018.
RYAN WELCH, Billings GazetteThere are 24 comics, culled from hundreds of submissions from all over the country. Seely and Smith draft teams, splitting the 24 down the middle into teams of 12. Team Auggie and Team Seely then compete in round one on Thursday, a semi-finals on Friday, and a championship round Saturday night.
In years past, they crowned a single champion, the best overall comic from either team. But this year is different, and Seely doesn't think he's ever seen a comedy festival laid out quite like it. It's a true competition, with all the individual comedians scores incorporated into a team. Instead of a single festival winner, there'll be a winning team and an MVP.
Kabir Singh won first place at the Big Sky Comedy Festival in 2019.
Courtesy photoAnd 2023 is the first year where all the comics will be paid. A bonus goes to the winning team, and a further bonus the MVP.
"Stand-up comedy is so individualized," Seely noted. "This format allows the other comics to encourage and cheer on their teammates."
"The the thing I care about the most is these relationships, and the things the comedians get out of this." he continued. "That's why we do what we do."
The festival has grown and changed over the years. Wilcox isn't involved anymore — "He's got a lot on his plate," Seely explained. But the organization has grown to a small staff, and they're a nonprofit now. There's a list of folks behind the scenes, including Billings comedian Conner Roma, the only Montanan to advance to the finals.
At least, so far. This year's crop features Garrison Choitz, a whip-smart comic out of Bozeman. The festival team don't play favorites with Montanans. Choitz is there for one reason: because he's funny.
All 24 of them are funny. There's the Los Angeles-based Brandie Posey, who is a regular on Jimmy Pardo's "Never Not Funny" podcast. And AJ Finney, who just released a new special called "Too Fast for Rain," which shot to the top of Amazon's comedy charts.
Audience members laugh during the Big Sky Comedy Festival at Babcock Theatre on Oct. 13, 2018.
RYAN WELCH, Billings GazetteThe goal is to win, of course. And early on, they leaned into the competition aspect of it, dubbing the show the Big Sky Comedy Competition. But the name was changed to Festival, Seely explained, because this is as much a showcase as anything else.
"The whole purpose of this festival is to help comics," Seely explained. "Help them get to the next level, maybe perform in front of people who could potentially change their lives."
The festival audience is saturated with what Seely terms "industry" — agents, managers, bookers, folks who work for CBS, NBC, Netflix, Comedy Central, etc. And in the past, it's worked. Seely can rattle off a few comics who got signed after being first seen at the Big Sky Comedy Festival.
Jimmy O. Yang, who has been in "Crazy Rich Asians" and "Silicon Valley," and has released a string of popular comedy specials, got signed by a manager after appearing at the festival.
"(Industry) come here for two reasons," Seely noted. "One is to scope out the new talent. And two, they love Billings."
Auggie Smith, who grew up in Billings, is a comedian and one of the folks behind the Big Sky Comedy Festival.
Courtesy photoThe Big Sky Comedy crew take the comics and the industry folks out of a grand tour of the area. The shows are all at night, so you've got the day free for horseback riding, target shooting, axe throwing or any other Montana experience.
The festival provides food for everyone, too. This year, it's all from local businesses. Billings seems to love the comedy festival as much as the comedians do.
"Since I've been back people have been like 'When is that big festival coming back?' So I figured we had to do it," Seely said. "That's the reason we're bringing it back."
"Billings runs this festival," he added. "I'm just very thankful for that. From the sponsors that help us pay people to the hotels and the food, we couldn't do it without that."
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Please log in to use this feature Log InComedian Hardeep Singh Kohli Charged With Sex Offences
Image caption,Hardeep Singh Kohli has been arrested and charged with sex offences
Scottish comedian Hardeep Singh Kohli has been arrested and charged in connection with "non-recent" sexual offences.
The 54-year-old has been released and is due to appear in court at a later date, police confirmed.
Mr Kohli has presented several programmes for the BBC and other broadcasters, and was runner up in the 2006 edition of Celebrity MasterChef.
He was also a contestant on Celebrity Big Brother in 2018.
A spokesperson for the force said a report of the circumstances had been submitted to the procurator fiscal.
Mr Kohli's arrest follows an investigation by the Times which described how several people had raised concerns about him.
Police Scotland confirmed last month it was investigating the allegations.
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