Badar Tareen is a civil rights attorney by day and an award-winning stand-up comedian and filmmaker by night. Known for his sharp, energetic, and analytical comedy, Badar captivates audiences with his wit and engaging presence, drawing rich material from his day job, family, and background as a Pakistani Muslim who grew up in a small town in North Dakota. He has opened for comedians like Zarna Garg, Aparna Nancherla, Akaash Singh, Tony Woods, and Marcello Hernandez, and has been featured at over a dozen comedy festivals, performing at clubs across the U.S., Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. In 2024, he was selected to headline his own show at the DC Capital Fringe Festival, which received the “Best of the Fest” designation and was featured in The Washington Post. This year, Forbes named Badar as one of the 12 Rising AAPI Stand-Up Comedians To Watch.

Instagram: @badartareen

Adam Mamawala is a nationally touring stand-up comedian based in New York City. He has appeared on Comedy Central, MTV, BET, Amazon Prime and SiriusXM, and both of his comedy albums debuted at #1 on the iTunes Comedy Charts. Adam has toured the country as Dane Cook's feature act, opened for Jon Stewart and was selected as one of Forbes' 12 Rising AAPI Stand-Up Comedians To Watch. In March 2026, he filmed his debut special for Dry Bar Comedy, scheduled for release in late 2026 / early 2027.

Instagram: @adammamawala

Farooq Hussain is a Pakistani Muslim comedian from NYC. Bringing a blend of silly and goofball humor with takes in South Asian and east coast culture. He has opened for household names such as Hasan Minhaj, Pete Davidson, & Ramy Malik. He has been performing all across the country and recently returned from his first string of shows in Pakistan. Farooq has been a comedian for 10 years all over the country, and has appeared in the NY comedy festival, Asian Comedy Festival and you might have seen him appear on funnyordie.com as well as Amazon prime.

Instagram: @farooqyou

Swetha Ramesh began performing comedy in 2023 to stop stress-baking weekly pans of shortbread. They now perform at some of DC’s best known venues, including the DC Comedy Loft and As You Are —where they co-produce a monthly queer comedy show, Backbone Comedy. They perform across the DC-Metro Area and have been featured on lineups at Asian Comedy Fest in NYC and Sprung! Comedy Festival in Silver Spring, MD. While their views are their own, their Netflix login is definitely borrowed (sorry).

Instagram: @heyitsswetharamesh

Benny Nwokeabia recently performed at the Netflix is a Joke Festival and has been making audiences laugh across the country with his sharp crowd work and multicultural perspective. Born in Washington DC to Nigerian and Ethiopian parents, raised in Geneva, Switzerland, and fluent in four languages, Benny brings a truly global lens to the stage — with punchlines that hit in any time zone. Benny won Comedy Kumite 39.2 (June 2023) in the DC Improv lounge.

Instagram: @realbennyy

Joey Friedman began comedic performances at her family’s dinner table circa 1997. You can find her one and only TV credit in Ari Shaffir’s Netflix special, America’s Sweetheart, as an opening comic. Every year, she co-produces a special fundraiser show, Sense of Tumor, featuring all cancer survivors and caregivers.

Instagram: @joeythelady