Bamfest is a comedy show inspired by Maria Bamford’s fearless honesty, packing in big comedic swerves, strange characters and a whole lot of wonderfully weird performers turning vulnerability, anxiety, family dysfunction, neurodivergence, and the absurdity of being human into something hilarious. Hosted by Ash Allen, a Portland comedian, storyteller, and Maria Bamford evangelist, Ash is a multiple Moth StorySLAM winner, a 2026 Willamette Week Funniest Five finalist, and was voted 2025 Best of Portland Comics.
Free Diet Coke and doughnuts will be served in honor of Maria’s birthday, the day before Bamfest.
Featured Bamfest performers include:
Arlo Weirerhauser: a dynamic, high-energy force in comedy who can’t be contained by a single label. A former Helium Comedy Club’s Portland’s Funniest Person (2017) and Willamette Week’s Funniest Person (2016), Arlo quickly transcended the local scene to make their national television debut on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Virginia Jones: a comic who has been on Portlandia, CNN’s History of Comedy, and an Australian tap dance commercial. She has opened for Maria Bamford, Jackie Kashian and Kevin McDonald. She is also the co-host of the podcast My Sister’s A Therapist, which was recently ranked in the top 100 of sister-hosted podcasts.
And many more, including: Brendan Creecy, Carlos Kareem Windham, Lindy Tongol, Babs Holm, Jenna Britain, Katie Shook, Molly McNabb, Roland and Muriel, Aleah Liebenau, Kristin Rowan, Joe John Sanchez III, Danny Krueger, and Jewels Field.