Hop For Pop
Press Kit
Stand-up · Clean comedy · Philadelphia
Joey Callahan
A Philadelphia comic who has worked clean since his first open mic in 1989, toured the US, Canada and the UK, opened for BB King and Weird Al Yankovic, and is building his next hour.
Based
Philadelphia
Stand-up
Since 1989 · Comedy Works, Philadelphia
Known for
Clean, high-energy, story-driven stand-up · Dry Bar Comedy special The Notorious F.O.D.
Interview
Hop For Pop · November 2026
“If I’m funny and clean, I’ve now doubled the places that I could work.”
Joey Callahan — Hop For Pop
Ready-to-use copy
Biography
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Joey Callahan is a Philadelphia stand-up comedian who has been working the road since 1989. He started at the Comedy Works, the Philadelphia club where Adam McKay, Paul F. Tompkins and Todd Glass also came up. Callahan arrived with years of improv and hosting experience from university, was asked to host the open mic in his third week, and within three weeks had his first paid gig, for $35.
Callahan grew up in a working-class Irish Catholic family around his aunt and uncle’s bar, listening to storytellers who could hold a room. His act is clean, fast and exaggerated, inspired by comics he calls cartoon characters, and built on stories about marriage and raising two daughters. His Dry Bar Comedy special, The Notorious F.O.D., is on YouTube.
He has worked across the United States, Canada and the UK, spent a month and a half at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, opened for BB King, and opened for Weird Al Yankovic six times on the US East Coast. He is now developing a self-produced 45-to-60-minute special.
The part other press kits leave out
What you should know before you book Joey
Joey Callahan is a veteran headliner who writes clean on purpose and brings decades of road experience to any room.
Clean, by choice
He has no problem with blue comics, but working clean doubles the places he can play. “Funny is very important, more important than being clean.”
Subtle, not blunt
He prefers the clever line to the low-hanging fruit, and leaves the audience to fill in the rest.
Plays any room
Clubs, theatres, universities earlier on, music shows and Edinburgh. He adapts the language, saying “trousers” in the UK, and the stories still land.
A great opener
Six shows opening for Weird Al Yankovic, plus BB King. He sees himself as the pickle that comes with the sandwich.
Built in blocks
He builds material in sections, like bricks in a wall, so a set can be rearranged to suit the show.
Gives back
He was helped by mentors such as Grover Silcox and makes a point of helping younger comics.
For press · cleared for use with attribution
Quotable
01
“If I’m funny and clean, I’ve now doubled the places that I could work.”02
“Stage time will fix everything.”03
“You’ll learn more from not doing well than you ever will by doing well. You want to embrace bombing cuz you’ll learn what not to do and it’ll toughen you up.”04
“To me, stand-up is like flying. Some nights you soar like a rocket. Some nights you’re flapping your wings.”05
“I don’t like the low hanging fruit.”06
“There’s an old Irish expression, the ability to tell somebody to go to hell and have them looking forward to the trip.”07
“Somebody has the energy to push a piano up a flight of steps, but very few people can play the piano when they get there.”08
“Yes, I know you came for this sandwich, but hey, look, this is a good pickle.”09
“It becomes like the Rubik’s cube. Like, how do I get all the colors on one side?”10
“Comedians are never off. They just want to get on stage.”11
“I believe in passing it on and sharing the gift that I’ve been given.”12
“You get people [to] forget their pains and their suffering and their worries and their anxiety cuz they’re laughing. It’s an amazing gift.”
Attribution: Joey Callahan, speaking to Hop For Pop, 2026.
Career
Selected credits
Stand-up
- The Notorious F.O.D. — Dry Bar Comedy special, on YouTube
- Edinburgh Festival Fringe — a month and a half
- Clubs and theatres across the United States, Canada and the UK
- New self-produced special in development
Opening act
- BB King
- Weird Al Yankovic — six shows on the US East Coast
Television
- Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen — taping in Los Angeles, November 2026
Influences
Grover Silcox, his early mentor, and Jay Leno. His favourite stand-up to watch is Kathleen Madigan. He grew up loving high-energy, exaggerated comics such as Ralph Harris, Steve Schaefer and Craig Shoemaker, and among younger comics he names Shane O’Connor.
Logistics
Press assets & contact
Online
Instagram @joeycallahancomedy
Watch
Search “Joey Callahan Dry Bar Comedy” on YouTube
This kit was produced by Hop For Pop. The interview and quotes are drawn from Hop For Pop × Joey Callahan, recorded 1 November 2026. Joey Callahan and their representatives are free to use any part of this document — the biography, the quotes — for booking, press and promotion, with credit to Hop For Pop for the interview material.
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