Why Josh Blue loves Denver, and why Denver loves him
A chat with Denver comedian Josh Blue
If you’re not familiar with the name Josh Blue, well — he’s kind of a big deal.
Blue is the uber-popular, award-winning comedian of national acclaim who won the 2006 season of Comedy Central’s “Last Comic Standing” and most recently took third place on the 2021 season of NBC’s “America’s Got Talent.”
He’s also often celebrated for his work advocating for people living with disabilities. As someone with a disability himself, he’s become known not for being a good cerebral palsy comic, but rather for being an outstanding comic who also has cerebral palsy. (He even represented team USA for a time as a member of the US Paralympic Soccer Team.)
But I’m willing to bet most Denverites knew Blue before the national spotlight found him. I have a vivid and charming memory of Blue performing and speaking at my elementary school circa 3rd grade. And there was also the time I found myself casually strolling behind him on 16th Street Mall (trying to fangirl discreetly).
Even though Blue was born in the Republic of Cameroon, raised in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and graduated college in Olympia, Washington, Denver is where he calls home. He even credits our little city as the place that launched his comedy career, so we get the honor of claiming him as our own.
“I have my two kids here, I have my home here, all my friends,” Blue told City Cast Denver. “Denver for me is home.”
Blue has long considered Comedy Works Downtown his “home club,” and today on the podcast, Blue spoke with our host Bree Davies about just how Denver shaped his comedy career:
“I quickly became part of the club. They took me under their wing. I went to the club probably six nights a week. I would just go there every night, they would let me sit in the back, and watch anybody that was there … and watch how a comedy club is run.
“I swear, this is the truth: Downtown Denver Comedy Works is the best club that you can perform in. People don’t even realize that it’s like one of the top clubs in the country, and it’s in our own front yard.”
🎧 LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE: From Comedy Works to America’s Got Talent: How Denver Made Josh Blue
— Peyton Garcia, City Cast Denver Newsletter Writer
OOPS… 🤦
Thanks to reader William D. for kindly making me aware of a spelling error in yesterday’s newsletter:
“I feel obligated to point out that you incorrectly spelled Barricuda’s [sic] correctly. Our beloved dive bar’s misspelling was immortalized on its sign and all its menus, which was really in keeping with its unpretentious charms.”
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OTHER ODDS AND ENDS
⛄ More snow’s a’comin’: Don’t let today’s mild temps lull you into a false sense of security, and don’t even think about putting away your snow boots. Meteorologists are estimating 3-6 inches of snow will land in Denver tomorrow.
✏️ New protocols for COVID in schools: Last Friday, state health officials announced that schools can soon begin treating COVID like they treat the flu. That means schools won’t have to investigate individual cases or quarantine people who were exposed at school, but they will still need to encourage vaccinations and report known cases.
- 💉 When will kids under 5 get the vax? Not until April at the earliest, according to the FDA.
- ⏰ Also related: Later school start times at Denver Public Schools might mean less bus routes.
🗑️ Here’s what’s going on with your trash pickup: Due to staffing shortages, Denver’s waste management division is struggling to catch up on missed routes. The city is asking residents to allow an additional 24 hours for trash pickup before filing a report.
🚩 Trouble for Cherry Creek: Current and former employees of the Cherry Creek School District are alleging discrimination and harassment. Specifically, employees describe a “permissive culture where men [are] treated demonstrably different than women and inappropriate or harassing behavior is routinely tolerated.”
🏈 Who’s ready for Super Bowl LVII? Only a mere 360 more days until the next Super Bowl, and some people are already prepared to place their bets on the Broncos.
🪧 A single senator blocks Amache historical designation: Colorado Democratic U.S. Senators John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet were only one vote short of making Amache, the former Colorado-based Japanese concentration camp, an official National Historic Site. Such a designation would make the site eligible for additional preservation assistance.
- 💬 A spokesperson for Republican U.S. Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, the lone opposition on the matter, told The Associated Press: “Senator Lee does not object to this specific historical site. He does object to any increase in the total amount of land owned by the federal government as the federal government fails to adequately care for the land already in its vast holdings.”
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