Jess Hilarious brings her comedy tour home to Baltimore this weekend

BALTIMORE — Baltimore native and comedian Jess Hilarious is performing at the Baltimore Comedy Factory this weekend, with shows running through Sunday, Sept. 13.

Jess Hilarious said Thursday night's opening show drew an energetic crowd.

"The first show was amazing. For it to be a Thursday night, people, kids just started school. People that had work this morning, including myself," Jess Hilarious said. "The meet and greet was crazy. It was amazing. The energy, it was amazing."

She called the Baltimore stop the homecoming leg of her tour and said no other city compares.

"It's no other city like home for me. This is the homecoming stop of my tour, and girl, I couldn't be happier. I only get nervous when I do shows at home," Jess Hilarious said.

She said the pressure of performing for a hometown crowd is real, but she finds her footing quickly once she takes the stage.

"I'll be backstage. I'll be pacing back and forth. I say about 3 or 4 prayers. I call my mom, she prays for me," she said. "Baltimore is right there with me and on my shoulders, so I feel like I owe them the world and so that's why it's a lot of pressure on me, but after like 5 minutes I get up there I get right into my zone. I do my thing."

Jess Hilarious is joined on stage by fellow Baltimore native and longtime opener Desi Alexander, whom she credits as a key influence on her career.

"He is my mentor. He actually is the reason why I got on stage in the first place," she said. "Girl, I wasn't gonna be a stand-up comedian. I was like, oh, I'm gonna stick with my little online following. I'm gonna do my thing. Desi said, no, you go up there. And ever since I did, here I am 14 years later, still doing stand-up, still touring the world, making hundreds and thousands of millions of people laugh."

Remaining show times at the Baltimore Comedy Factory are:

Friday, Sept. 11 7:30 p.m. | 10 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 12 7 p.m. | 9:30 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 13 7 p.m.

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