Born and raised in Thornhill, Ontario, Dave Hemstad was an Academic All-American golfer who was struck by lightning during a tournament...which significantly altered his career path.

Dave has spent the last 20 years performing stand-up comedy around the world and is highly sought after for his particular brand of clean humour, dissecting our day-to-day lives with a razor
sharp wit that is oh-so-relatable. Dave is a triple threat in the comedy world as a stand-up, writer, and actor. He has taped numerous gala sets at Just For Laughs, the Halifax Comedy Festival, and the Winnipeg Comedy Festival, as well as recording his own Comedy Now! special.

Dave is a regular and favourite on CBC’s The Debaters and has written for CBC’s Still Standing and for the 2016 Canadian Screen Awards. As an actor Dave starred in the TV series Almost Heroes, co-starred in the CBS Sports
golf show Off The Hozzle, and has many other acting credits to his name. His new comedy album “DAD INTENTIONS” is available on iTunes and Spotify.

Keesha Brownie is an energetic, multi-faceted, bilingual performer known for her dynamic stage presence and razor-sharp wit. Drawing from her background in theatre, sketch, and music, she crafts a comedic recipe that blends observations about her Jamaican roots and Canadian upbringing with punchlines punctuated by act-outs, parody songs, and sometimes even backup dancers.

Brownie's talent has garnered recognition, earning her a Canadian Comedy Award nomination for Best Female Stand-Up in 2015 and has made a name for herself on a global scale, gracing stages across Canada, the United States, the Caribbean, and the United Kingdom.

Brownie has been featured in the 2024 Canadian Comedy Hall of Fame Festival, the 2023 Winnipeg Comedy Festival televised on CBC Gem, She-Devil Comedy Festival in NYC, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and as a pre-show act for 2019 Adam Sandler on his 100% Fresh Tour. Brownie is also a regular headliner on Kenny Robinson’s Nubian Disciples of Pryor Comedy Review, a wildly successful show on the Toronto comedy scene.

She is also a notable producer: Comedy is Art Festival 2023 with sketch troupe The Minority Report, Underground Comedy Railroad Tour (online), a long-running showcase of Black comedians in Canada, as well as the Stand Up Stitches Comedy Series at The Rose Brampton Theatre. 

Her debut comedy album, Ingredients of a Brownie, produced by Howl & Roar Records can be heard on all streaming platforms.

One of Canada’s rising comedic talents, Alistair first appeared in the national spotlight when he won CBC’s Next Up Competition in 2019. Since then, he’s taped a televised stand up set at the Halifax Comedy Festival, been featured on a Just For Laughs Originals comedy album, and garnered over 8 million views across Instagram and TikTok. He and his show Comedy Pants have been repeatedly featured as part of the Just For Laughs Vancouver festival and he made his debut at Just For Laughs Toronto in 2023. You can now catch him regularly at Don’t Tell Comedy shows in Toronto and comedy clubs across the country.

Since coming out as transgender, Al Val has enjoyed nothing short of a meteoric rise in the Canadian comedy scene. Val has made multiple appearances at the prestigious Just For Laughs Festival, as well as JFL Vancouver, JFL Toronto and the Halifax Comedy Festival. She has taped stand-up sets for CBC Gem’s New Wave of Standup, Crave TV’s The Stand-Up Show with Jon Dore, and JFL Originals, has written for This Hour Has 22 Minutes, hosts her own weekly solo stream-of consciousness podcast PodGis, will be appearing on CTV Canada’s Roast Battle Season 4, and her much anticipated album and live special, So Brave, can be found on streaming platforms and YouTube this spring. Between her boundlessly high energy, vulnerability and honesty regarding her transitional journey, clever, insightful perspective, and spontaneous, silly delivery, Al Val is surely a dynamic, exciting entertainer whose charm you will surely be unable to resist!

Faraz Niafattah is a Toronto-based standup comedian whose deadpan delivery and colourful choice of words leaves audiences wanting more and he is often described as a crowd favourite for his relatable humor. Faraz can be seen regularly at many Toronto Clubs including Absolute Comedy, The Corner Comedy Club and Yuk Yuk’s. He’s performed at Just for Laugh Toronto, Don’t Tell Comedy, as well as The Haymaker Comedy Festival. He recently placed 1st in the Absolute Comedy contest in Toronto and has also competed at The Seattle International Comedy Competition where he received the golden ticket to compete in San Francisco’s Comedy Competition in September of 2024. He’s also scheduled to perform at VAIL Comedy Festival this May in Denver, Colorado.

Clever & charming with a self-deprecating wit, Ryan Dillon has quickly gained recognition from critics & peers as a comic to watch. Born in St. John's, Newfoundland, Ryan got his start with The Canadian Improv Games in high school before moving to Toronto to pursue a career in comedy. In his first few months doing stand-up he was selected for the Tim Sim’s Fresh Meat Showcase at The Second City. His one-man show “Collapse” earned him critical praise and awards with a sold out run at The Toronto Fringe Festival. He's been featured on Just For Laughs, Kevin Hart's LOL Network, a finalist for SiriusXM's Top Comic at JFL42, Winnipeg Comedy Festival + more. His debut album "Violently Nice" went to #1 on iTunes and can be heard on the JFL channel on SiriusXM