Comedian Jonah Nigh, whom Instinct Magazine exclaimed is "armed with razor-sharp wit, an infectious stage presence, and a fearless approach to storytelling," and "one of comedy’s most exciting new voices," has appeared in a variety of roles for NBC (“Baking It,” produced by Amy Poehler and hosted by Maya Rudolph and Andy Samberg), Peacock, CBS, Don't Tell Comedy, WNYC, NYC Pride March, France TV, among other venues. He has opened for Robby Hoffman, Natasha Leggero, Lady Bushra, and Mario Tory, and he was recently selected for the upcoming comedy docuseries "Behind the Comedian" which will air on Amazon Prime. He recently passed at Rodney’s Comedy Club—one of the oldest and most storied comedy clubs in the United States, originally founded by Rodney Dangerfield in 1969.
Debuts in 2025 will include talks and performances at Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Hollywood Improv, Punch Line San Francisco, Mic Drop Comedy (San Diego), Rooster's (Sunnyvale, CA), Beaux (San Francisco), Flappers Comedy Club, Minneapolis Institute of Art, City University of New York, Red Eye NY, the HOT Festival (NYC), the Traverse City Comedy Festival, Don't Tell Mama, G&B Comedy (London, headliner), The Copacabana, Notoriety (Las Vegas), Philadelphia Comedy Festival (Best of Fest), Akron Comedy Jam, The Last Word Comedy Festival (Virginia), World Series of Comedy (Las Vegas), Queen of Hoxton (London), Asian Comedy Fest, Blue Whale Comedy Festival (Tulsa), Boulder Comedy Festival, Meadowlands Comedy Festival, Mad House Comedy Club (San Diego), North Carolina Comedy Festival, Comedy Mob Festival at Rodney's, A League of Her Own (Washington D.C., headliner), Ha Ha Harvest Comedy Festival (New Jersey), New York Queer Comedy Festival, among other venues. In 2024, he made comedy festival debuts in Amsterdam, NYC, Los Angeles (headliner), Boulder (headliner), Ithaca (headliner), Iowa City (Best of Fest), Hollywood, Ontario, Maine, Denver, Portland, and New Orleans. As a classical singer, he has performed live in Washington D.C., Aspen, San Francisco, Boston, Milwaukee, and on TV and film. He has appeared in commercial campaigns for Chevy, Bose, and other national brands. A former opera singer, Jonah was born in San Francisco and grew up in Minnesota and Washington, D.C.
He was awarded second place in the 2025 US Comedy Contest (Los Angeles) and 2024 Next Best Comic competition (Canada); third place in the 2025 Comedy Mob Festival at Rodney's (NYC); and he was a finalist in the 2025 NY Queer Comedy Festival and 2024 Portland Comedy Film Festival.
He began his career as a classical musician and has been involved in the production side of live events as a booking agent and concert coordinator. He earned his undergraduate degree in vocal performance at Lawrence University and a Master of Music from the New England Conservatory. Performance credits include roles at the Aspen Music Festival, Boston Lyric Opera, Dorian Opera Theatre, and Opera Boston.
Jonah is a frequent public speaker on the topics of diversity, equity, inclusion, social justice, philanthropy, and nonprofits and has partnered with Bloomberg Philanthropies, City University of New York, the National Endowment for the Arts, The Juilliard School, Asian Leadership Collective, The Janchi Show, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, The Aspen Leadership Group, Columbia Business School, Florida State University, The New School, The Jewish Museum, the Association of Fundraising Professionals, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, Faces of Adoption, among other organizations.
He was appointed to Bronx Community Board Four by former Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. and served on its executive and economic development committees. He served on the boards of The Association of Fundraising Professionals (NYC Chapter; President-Elect) and Grapevine, a giving circle platform that works to democratize philanthropy. He is the co-founder of The BIPOC Forum for Fundraisers, a free resource for fundraisers of color.
A five-time marathoner and Boston-qualifier, he’s usually running or baking when he’s not saying yes to too many projects.
