Kyle Brownrigg
Kyle Brownrigg is a Canadian stand-up comedian, most noted for winning the Juno Award for Comedy Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2024 for his comedy album A Lylebility.[1]
Originally from Ottawa, Brownrigg began his career at open mic comedy nights in Ottawa.[2] He later moved to Toronto, where he is a regular performer at comedy clubs and shows. He has also performed as a touring comic, at events such as Just for Laughs, JFL Northwest, the Halifax Comedy Festival, the Sudbury Comedy Festival, the 905 Comedy Festival, We're Funny That Way! and the Icebreakers Comedy Festival. He was featured in the 2018 HBO Canada special Homegrown Comics,[3] and the 2020 CBC Gem special The New Wave of Standup,[4] and has appeared on CBC Radio's comedy debate series The Debaters.
In 2018 he was a finalist in SiriusXM Canada's annual Top Comic competition.[5] He released his first comedy album, Unmedicated: The New Fragrance, in 2019.[6] In the same year, he won the Canadian Comedy Award for Best Breakout Artist at the 19th Canadian Comedy Awards.[7]
In 2021, he appeared in an episode of Jon Dore's comedy series Humour Resources.[8] In 2022, his full-length comedy special Kyle Brownrigg: Introducing Lyle, recorded at the 2021 Just for Laughs festival, premiered on Crave. In 2022 he appeared in two episodes of Roast Battle Canada.[9]
Brownrigg is openly gay.[10] The initial news of his Juno nomination came just one day after he had reluctantly decided to leave stand-up comedy due to the challenges of pursuing it as an openly gay comedian, with Brownrigg opining that "it's kind of weird how the universe pulls you back in".[11] His stand-up comedy routine often draws on "Lyle", his name for a loud and obnoxious aspect of his personality that comes out when he drinks alcohol, with one of his most famous "Lyle" stories revolving around a television reporter for CP24 who once asked him about the Toronto Pride parade in a live on-the-street spot.[11]
References
[edit]- ^ "Junos 2024: full list of winners". CBC Music, March 23, 2024.
- ^ Sandra Abma, "Absolute Comedy's Monday open mic nights a chance to laugh it up on the cheap". CBC News Ottawa, January 25, 2016.
- ^ Bill Brioux, "K. Trevor Wilson on success and not having to worry about his next paycheque". 680 News, August 31, 2018.
- ^ Tom Zillich, "'That night was so much fun': Surrey-raised comedian in 'New Wave of Standup' series". Surrey Now-Leader, July 8, 2020.
- ^ "Who will battle it out joke-for-joke for $25,000? Finalists are announced for SiriusXM's Top Comic". Canada NewsWire, August 22, 2018.
- ^ Marty Younge, "11 of the Best Canadian Comedy Albums of 2019". The Interrobang, December 28, 2019.
- ^ Chris Borris, "Capital Comedy Review: Competitions, Kyle Brownrigg and Big Comedy Parade". Ottawa Life, August 15, 2019.
- ^ Greg David, "Just for Laughs wraps production on Humour Resources for CBC". TV, eh?, October 29, 2020.
- ^ Greg David, "CTV COMEDY CHANNEL READIES UP FOR MORE JABS WITH ROAST BATTLE CANADA SEASON 2, BEGINNING JUNE 13". TV, eh?, June 3, 2022.
- ^ Andrew Johnston, "Why are there no superstar gay male stand-ups?" Archived July 17, 2021, at the Wayback Machine. Now, June 20, 2018.
- ^ a b Glenn Sumi, "Kyle Brownrigg stands up: The day after the comedian decided to quit standup, he scored a Juno nom: 'The universe pulls you back'". Toronto Star, June 13, 2024.