Given that I fall well outside the center of mass of the stand-up comedy demographic, I didn’t expect to make many friends when I started. One of the biggest surprises of doing stand-up has been finding a community. The people I’ve met come from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences, and those differences show up in the kinds of jokes they tell and the perspectives they bring on stage. It’s through those jokes that I’ve come to feel close to so many people in just one year.

Of everyone I’ve met in comedy, I’ve felt closest to the cohort of people who started around the same time I did. Watching them grow, develop, and succeed has been a real privilege. It's also been a way to hold a mirror up to my own improvement and reflect on how far I have come in a short amount of time. They may not know it, but I’ve learned a tremendous amount simply by watching each of them work.

To close out the year, I wanted to introduce you to a few of these comedians so you can learn from them as well. I sent out a questionnaire to four local Houston comics who also started stand-up this year: Yehee Son, Jeff McNew, John Newman, and Marcos.

So here is the Houston comedy scene’s class of 2025 and why they’re worth paying attention to.

Meet the comedians

Click on the button below their picture to read their responses to the questionnaire .

Yehee Son

Instagram: @heyms.yehee

The first word that comes to mind when I think of Yehee is firecracker. Her outgoing, extroverted personality lights up every room she walks into. I’m constantly in awe of her ability to connect with people wherever she goes.

That warmth and relatability translate effortlessly to the stage. Yehee has a natural command of an audience and the ability to win them over whenever she chooses. She started comedy around the same time I did, which has given me a front-row seat to her growth. Lately, I’ve been especially impressed by how sharp and confident her delivery has become.

Yehee’s material centers on her life as a disabled woman and the unique challenges that come with it. Through her comedy, she points out the hypocrisies of modern society in a way that invites reflection while still allowing us to laugh at ourselves. Beyond the stage, she’s also becoming an emerging voice for disability awareness on social media.

Jeff McNew

Instagram: @bardthejeff

Jeff started comedy almost exactly when I did, about ten months ago, and of all the people I’ve met this year, he’s someone I would genuinely call a friend. He’s an incredibly kind, thoughtful, and funny person, and we’ve spent countless hours talking about the science and art of comedy. Things like what works, what doesn’t, and how to keep getting better.

Jeff has overcome a great deal of adversity growing up and has figured out how to channel those experiences into a truly distinctive point of view and a natural storytelling style. On stage, he shares the wildest stories from his life: the wide range of jobs he’s worked, growing up with a strict stepmom, and spending summers with his memorable Grandpa Dick. They’re the kind of stories that somehow stay funny no matter how many times you hear them.

What I admire most about Jeff is his stage presence. He’s confident and naturally commands a room, while also being fearless in his willingness to take risks, try new ideas, and push a premise further while trusting himself in the moment. Watching him perform has been a reminder that great comedy isn’t just about having strong material, but about having the courage and vulnerability to say it with your full chest on stage.

John Newman

John Newman has been doing comedy for about six months and is one of the few comics I know who is older than me. We’ve crossed paths at countless open mics and writer’s rooms. Despite his gruff exterior, John is extremely kind-hearted. He's also a total softie on the inside and, frankly, kind of looks like a Care Bear on the outside too.

He’s a blast to write with because our brains work very differently, which makes us a great sounding board for each other when testing how jokes might land. He enjoys dropping scientific concepts into his material, and I enjoy pointing out when he’s using them incorrectly.

Much of John’s writing centers on his family, especially raising his daughters, who he clearly loves very much. What I’ve learned from John is that authenticity and relatability are funny. He’s a dad and husband trying to do right by his family, and whether he succeeds or fails, the audience recognizes themselves in him and roots for him the whole way.

Marcos

Instagram: @antonio_htown_local

Marcos started comedy a few months after me, and of all the comics featured here, he is probably the one I have spent the least amount of time with. I saw him perform often when he first started and then did not see him for months. When I finally did, it was like seeing a niece or nephew again after a long stretch. I was genuinely surprised by how much he had grown, both as a writer and a performer. His jokes were sharper and more efficient, and his delivery felt confident while still warm and approachable.

I'm an especially big fan of Marcos's writing. His jokes are subtly complex and often wickedly cutting, but he has a way of delivering them that never makes the audience feel talked down to or left behind.

Seeing him again was a reminder of how quickly someone can develop when they are focused and intentional about their craft. Even without knowing him particularly well, it was obvious that he’d been putting in the work, tightening his writing, refining his delivery, and becoming more comfortable on stage.

Q & A

Yehee Son Q & A

Instagram: @heyms.yehee

For whatever reason, 2025 was the year you took the plunge into stand-up comedy. How did your experience in year one stack up against the expectations you had about doing stand-up and/or being part of the local comedy scene?

I truly had no expectations going into it at first. I knew that I wanted to do it for the last 5 years and thought about it, but I didn't expect the scene to be so show business-y on the local level with as much sex, drugs, and partying as it has. I always thought that those things happen higher up and in places like LA and New York, but it's just as rampant on a smaller scale. It was jarring to see as a nerdy kid who used to be scared of places like Secret Group, but I've adjusted. I have managed to not drink at any of the clubs and events to this day and kept my nose clean. Stay sober.

There were probably plenty of highs and lows over the past year, but what was your most memorable or proudest comedy moment of 2025?

My most memorable moment was a birthday show in Matagorda. It was away from all the noise in the countryside. The weather was nice, and I was with Mackenzie, Jazz, and Leo. It was a really wholesome time that I won't forget. We did our thing, and then we hung out a bit by a lake. I sat next to Jazz on a rock while we watched Mackenzie and Leo run to a nearby restaurant to see if we could get a bite to eat. Something about that night really made me feel warm and fuzzy. My proudest moment is last night when I had the courage to drive to Austin and back to sign up for Kill Tony by myself. 

Looking ahead to 2026, what is your stand-up comedy New Year’s resolution?

I don't know about New Year's resolution, but some of my goals are: get a golden ticket on Kill Tony, start a workshop centering around social media and personal branding for comics, and start my own comedy show or open mic. Aside from that first goal, I want to give back to the comedy scene. As someone who's worked in social media marketing full time, those skills have really helped me keep my creative juices flowing and secure a following for when I make it in comedy. I feel as if comics focus a lot on impressing other comics when they should focus on the audience and growing a fanbase that resonates with them, and I want to help with that effort.

What is the single most important piece of advice you would go back and give to yourself one year ago, when you were just starting out?

Be cringe. Bomb. Be a flop. You can only get better from there. If you don't, you will die wondering what it would've been like if you had.

John Newman Q & A

For whatever reason, 2025 was the year you took the plunge into stand-up comedy. How did your experience in year one stack up against the expectations you had about doing stand-up and/or being part of the local comedy scene?

I enjoyed watching stand-up comedy from a young age and if you could see me you would know that was more than a few years ago, I am post midlife crisis, the family was doing well, but I had to add some flavor to my life.  Let's face it, clocking in and out 40 hours a week even if you enjoy what you do looks like a boring 12 years until retirement. So why not have some fun along the way?

I am just starting my 6th month and I really didn't know what to expect. I just treated it like a karaoke night. I found out really fast the first year is all about getting on stage. Bucket pull comic is Sunday thru Thursday (first year comic) and you are blended in with comedians that have years of experience. First thing to wrap your head around is a paid comic is still working on material and that's done in small rooms with small audiences. You can write the best joke ever but unless it fits with your delivery it will bomb.

The only way to test it is to do it. This is where some confusion can set in fast. After three months I was listening to a playback of things I had done, it sounded like I was getting the same response as the experienced comedians and I was but here is what I didn't see.  All of the experienced comedians were all working new material as well to fit into their weekend shows. It is just time on the microphone finding the best way to present a funny idea or comparison. The experienced ones had four to forty years worth of making the delivery of an idea funny. For the reality part of comedy, just know everyone is constantly working on writing and delivering jokes. If you don't give yourself room to fail you will never have the room to find what is not only funny to you, but the audience.

There were probably plenty of highs and lows over the past year, but what was your most memorable or proudest comedy moment of 2025?

This one took me a minute, Awww boil down twenty six  weeks of great moments down to one.  Ok I will leave the names of people and places out of this just to make it fair for all the great people and places. I had found a club that would put me up once a week and that in itself is a great thing for a first year comic. It was maybe a good crowd of 5 people and 15 comics. I left the stage that night and a few of the comics gave me a "that was great" but it was what happened after that was the beginning of the high point.

On the way to get the traditional drink after getting off stage one of the other comics explained to me that they ran a comedy show at a different time on that same night. He said he could put me up on stage just to get there a little early and put my name on a list. As I know it now it was just a different open mic with a list. At the time I had no idea that this type of open mic even existed. I put up a pretty tight five minutes. This might not sound like a great high point but for someone to hear your set, ask you to come participate in their show and then deliver when you show up is definitely a high point.

I am fortunate that this has happened a time or two after that but you always remember your first. If you work at it you can get a laugh from the crowd, the thing that will keep a new comic going is "that was great, will you be a part of my show?" I was three month into it and that is the fuel that I still run on three months later.

Looking ahead to 2026, what is your stand-up comedy New Year’s resolution?

Well as most ADD people do, I have a 93 part plan..ok.. that is going to turn into a manifesto. Lets focus on the last 3.

1. Keep doing what I am doing a few nights a week of stage time to keep the balance between spice of life and family life. To be honest even if I had a good balanced joke about the homeless, I could end up that way if I don't keep my love of comedy in check.
2. Host an existing show in Houston. Yes it is a bit more mic time but I think the benefit will be looking at a comedy show as a full two hour show. It could help solve the question of now that I am here where is my part in this.
3. Comedy growth and maintenance to be very specific about this. Everything I write comes from one common place: Family life, I know as a father and a husband it touches every issue that we as a society deals with. No virtue signaling here I get into the good, the bad, and the ugly. Keep it in going from a place of love and the fact we all have a past, present, and a future.

What is the single most important piece of advice you would go back and give to yourself one year ago, when you were just starting out?

It took me two months to find them but 'writing rooms'. I went on stage with very little advice or material. If you are reading this and do not know what a writing room is, basically three to fifteen comics in a place just talking about jokes and the different places to perform. The location is not important, the people are, it should end by 7:30pm so people can get to 8:00pm shows.

I can not tell you how much good material comes from one person saying something and having the chance for honest feedback of what the other person heard. I can not explain it but it builds bits so fast in this environment. People are always talking about getting into the "green room" as a good place to write but at this level of comedy that's not where it is at. Ok...now I have another goal for 2026 even if it is a small one starting a writers rooms is now on the list. It's the best way I can think of to pay back the comedy community or at least help grow it.

Jeff McNew Q & A

Instagram: @bardthejeff

For whatever reason, 2025 was the year you took the plunge into stand-up comedy. How did your experience in year one stack up against the expectations you had about doing stand-up and/or being part of the local comedy scene?

In November of 2024 I decided I would finally take the plunge and get on stage by the end of January 2025, or I was going to give up my silly dream. During the months leading up to the circled date, the only emotion I felt was dread. The day came, and it went terribly; fear gripped each moment as I spoke. My friend David filmed it and we watched the video in the car before we drove back home. I saw nervous ticks that I’d never noticed. I hated my voice. I was being so critical and then I heard it, a laugh. I had gotten one laugh. It was enough to get me on stage again one more time. I knew comedy would be tough, but reality quickly outpaced my expectations. Comedy was even harder than I imagined. 

There were probably plenty of highs and lows over the past year, but what was your most memorable or proudest comedy moment of 2025?

My most memorable moment was the first time I killed on stage. It was my ninth performance, and things had not been going well leading up to it. I was at Axelrad, and they were doing their Sunday night competition. I had a 60 second joke I had tried only once before, so I wasn’t sure how it was going to go. 10 seconds into my joke and the place was going nuts. I had to slow down and make sure I wasn’t stepping on the crowds’ laughs. I couldn’t believe it. I had to call my best friend afterwards just to make sure I wasn’t dreaming! 

Looking ahead to 2026, what is your stand-up comedy New Year’s resolution?

I want to have 15 minutes of solid A+ material by the end of 2026.  

What is the single most important piece of advice you would go back and give to yourself one year ago, when you were just starting out?

 Don’t try to be so cool.

Marcos Q & A

Instagram: @antonio_htown_local

For whatever reason, 2025 was the year you took the plunge into stand-up comedy. How did your experience in year one stack up against the expectations you had about doing stand-up and/or being part of the local comedy scene?

I have to admit year one of doing comedy was harder than I expected. There's a big difference between making friends laugh and making an audience laugh. I didn't expect to learn so much about how different and unique everyone is. It was also my first time experiencing impostor syndrome. I was happy to learn it's an experience that all comics have early on.

There were probably plenty of highs and lows over the past year, but what was your most memorable or proudest comedy moment of 2025?

Every comic will say there are good days and bad days. My favorite day so far doing comedy would have to be at the pub 529. We usually get a small but diverse audience there. However, that night was a full house. I was so nervous, but thankfully, that all went away when I got on stage. The audience was so polite and attentive that it was easy to feel like a real comedian. When I got off stage, the host told me he let me do 20 minutes because he didn't want me to stop. A personal best on stage for me.

Looking ahead to 2026, what is your stand-up comedy New Year’s resolution?

At the risk of sounding like a very generic answer, I would have to say to just work on myself. Improving as a person is bound to improve my comedy career. If I'm nicer and more confident, it should help me interact better and hopefully be more relatable to the audience.

What is the single most important piece of advice you would go back and give to yourself one year ago, when you were just starting out?

If I could give myself one piece of advice a year ago, I would just tell myself to go ahead and look up impostor syndrome. Also, to always remember the 1000 hour rule.