Next month marks the 20th anniversary of the September 11th attacks on New York City’s World Trade Center. To mark the sobering milestone, Jon Stewart and Pete Davidson have announced a special comedy benefit concert to raise money for 9/11 charities. It’s called “NYC Still Rising After 20 Years: A Comedy Celebration” and it’s scheduled for September 12th at Madison Square Garden.
Joining Stewart and Davidson will be some of the biggest names in comedy, including Dave Chappelle, Amy Schumer, Jimmy Fallon, John Mulaney, Wanda Sykes, Bill Burr, Colin Quinn, Dave Attell, Colin Jost, and Michael Che.
“We wanted to put on a fun celebration to honor this great city’s resilience,” said Stewart and Davidson in a joint statement. “It’s nice to be able to do this with friends and people we love.”
The September 11th attacks were a national tragedy, of course, but they were also deeply personal for the two comedians. Davidson’s father, Scott Matthew Davidson, was a New York firefighter who passed away after running up the stairs of the World Trade Center to help rescue those stranded inside. As for Stewart, he’s spent the past two decades tirelessly advocating for 9/11 victims and played a pivotal role in getting the September 11th Victim Compensation fund to pass.
In order to attend the comedy celebration, all guests must provide proof of full COVID-19 vaccination and an ID matching their name on the document. Full vaccination means the day of the event is at least 14 days after attendees’ final vaccine dose.
Pre-sale tickets for “NYC Still Rising After 20 Years: A Comedy Celebration” will be available on August 11th at 12:00 p.m. EST via Ticketmaster before general tickets go on sale August 13th at 12:00 p.m. EST. After the event sells out, you can try your luck snagging a ticket here, too.
Bummed you live far away from New York or aren’t available to attend the gig? There’s a chance it will be recorded and available to stream online later, or at least it sure sounds that way. According to a press release, there will be a strict no cell phone, camera, or recording device policy in place for the comedy special. All electronic devices, including smart watches, will be secured in Yondr pouches that will be unlocked at the end of the show. Anyone caught with a phone in the venue “will be immediately ejected.” Fingers crossed that’s because they plan on making the star-studded event available to digitally purchase or stream later on.
