Dave Chappelle to open New York Comedy Festival at Madison Square Garden
Dave Chappelle will open the New York Comedy Festival with a headline show at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 6.
The booking adds Chappelle as a headliner for this year's festival, according to Variety. The Garden date is the anchor of a run of newly announced arena shows.
The tour starts in Nashville. Chappelle plays the Bridgestone Arena on Oct. 20, then the Spectrum Center in Charlotte on Oct. 21.
It continues north of the border after that. He plays Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Oct. 23 and the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville on Oct. 24. Two Texas dates close the announced stretch, at the Moody Center in Austin on Oct. 26 and the Toyota Center in Houston on Oct. 28.
All of the added shows will be phone-free. That means audience phones are placed in Yondr pouches, locked fabric cases that are only unlocked by staff after the show, and cannot be used inside the venue.
Tickets for the Madison Square Garden festival opener go on sale in two stages. Presale begins at 10 a.m. ET on Sept. 15, with general sale following on Sept. 17.
The dates form part of a wider Fall 2026 arena tour, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
For fans, this means two ways to catch Chappelle in New York. Separately, a Live Nation listing advertises 'NYC Still Rising After 25 Years - A 9/11 Charities Comedy Benefit' at Madison Square Garden. The listing gives the date as Thursday, Sept. 10 at 7 p.m., and bills Chappelle alongside Ronny Chieng.
