Comedian Dusty Slay announced today he is returning to Walton Arts Center with a hilarious, new stand-up comedy show on Friday, April 23 at 7 pm.
Presales begin Wednesday, Oct. 14 at 10 am. Tickets go on sale to the public at 10 am Friday, Oct. 16. Standard all-in ticket prices are $31.19-$111.03. Tickets are available to purchase online at waltonartscenter.org or by calling the box office at 479.443.5600 weekdays from 10 am to 5 pm.
In 2018, Slay’s show-stealing showcase at the prestigious Just For Laughs Comedy Festival caught the attention of Hollywood tastemakers, but his irreverent sense of humor developed before he even stepped on stage, through over a decade of working thankless blue-collar jobs.
Long before anyone had ever heard of TikTok, at 18 years old, Slay dropped out of community college. At 19 his plans to join the army were foiled by an arrest. By 21 he moved from his hometown of Opelika, Ala., to Charleston, SC. On the coast, Slay worked as a waiter and pesticide salesman for over a decade while moonlighting as an obscure, often drunk, open-mic comedian.
It wasn’t until he quit drinking in 2012 that he started to take comedy and his unique talent for telling jokes seriously. His smooth baritone voice and relatable stories about growing up poor in a trailer park quickly made him a local Charleston favorite. After being voted best local comedian and winning the Charleston Stand Up Comedy Competition, both two years in a row, his well-intentioned friends and colleagues encouraged Slay to move to Los Angeles and take a shot at the big time.
While this may have been sound advice for the average aspiring artist, Slay wanted to try to make it in comedy on his own terms: by living in the South, without getting too far away from the home that grounded him. Today, Slay has close to half a million Tik Tok followers, four late night appearances, a Comedy Central set and a Netflix Half Hour Special under his belt. He enjoys selling out comedy clubs across America on weekends, then chills out at home in Nashville, Tenn., with his wife Hannah and daughter Daisy. He’s even a regular at the legendary Grand Ole Opry, sharing the stage with the musicians he grew up loving.
Slay is grateful that he gets to do a job he loves while remaining true to himself, close to his family, and connected to the community that inspires the everyday humor that has made him a star.
Want the opportunity to meet Dusty? Order his book “We’re Having a Good Time” here and hold onto your receipt. Present your receipt to the team member at the merch booth before the show, and you will receive a wristband for a photo opportunity after the show. You must also have a ticket to the show to participate in this experience.
Support for Walton Arts Center is provided, in part, by the Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage, and Tourism, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Walton Arts Center is Arkansas’ largest and busiest performing arts presenter. Each year more than 215,000 people from Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma and beyond attend more than 300 public events at Walton Arts Center, including performances, rehearsals, community gatherings, receptions, weddings and more. Approximately 32,000 students and teachers participate annually in arts learning programs at Walton Arts Center, and almost 250 volunteers donate 28,000 hours of time each year to its operations. Walton Arts Center presents entertainers and artists from around the world including Broadway musicals, renowned dance companies, international artists, up-and-coming jazz musicians and more. As a non-profit organization, Walton Arts Center enjoys the generous support of public sector funding, corporate sponsorship and private donors, allowing audience members to enjoy world-class performances at a great price. To learn more about Walton Arts Center, visit www.waltonartscenter.org.
