Kasaun Wilson To Headline Jersey City’s Annual Comedy Festival

This may not be the Jersey City that Kasaun Wilson remembers growing up in, but it’s his home. The comedian is returning as one of the headliners of this year’s Jersey City Comedy Festival, taking place for five nights from June 10 to June 14. 

As a headliner, coming home to perform in the Jersey City Comedy Festival isn’t something that Wilson could easily put into words. 

“I’ve been blessed to do some amazing things in my life,” he says. “From attending the Emmy awards to seeing projects he’s worked on put on the screen, to being on the Senate floor to watch the PACT Act get signed so veterans can get healthcare, and traveling the world telling jokes. Being able to come to Jersey City and give an hour of comedy for the first time means the world to me.” 

Wilson spent time writing for the TV show “The Problem with Jon Stewart,” which was produced in New York City. He decided to work there so he could live in his hometown of Jersey City. He described the three years he spent working for the show as “the best time of his life.”

“I was living in the Three Acres apartments, that’s by the Hudson Mall. I would still go over to Boulevard Drinks up in Journal Square, just like my mom did, to get a hot dog and a pina colada,” he said. “All my family is still here. I grew up in what is now known as Bergen-Lafayette. Andy’s Supermarket by City Hall was our grocery store. My family still goes to the Ocean Avenue Baptist Church. There’s so much of this city in my blood through and through.” 

With his grandmother as the head deacon of their church and his mother a Sunday school teacher, Wilson found himself at church seven days a week. Being what he describes as a “sheltered church kid,” he attended a Christian school where you got detention for talking on the school bus. Being the only child of an only child, his best friends were 65-year-old deacons. 

“They were guys named Virgil and women named Willamae,” says Wilson. “They grew up during the Great Depression, and they were my best friends. While I missed out on a lot of cartoons and R&B, I at least got stories that nobody else has.” 

While kids in the neighborhood were outside playing with the fire hydrant, Wilson was inside reading about the Phoenicians in the Bible. After eighth grade, his family moved to Delaware. Looking back now, he has reflected on how Jersey City has changed from his childhood.

“I was a Glen Cunningham kid. So coming back as an adult, driving around and exploring Jersey City in a different way, I could see people jogging through neighborhoods with their headphones on at 10 o’clock at night, and that’s not the way I remember Jersey City,” he said. “It’s very carefree, and that was something I needed to learn about how this city has grown. And it’s been great to see that.” 

He believes the people of Jersey City “deserve the best,” saying the city is filled with beautiful people and culture, but is sometimes only reduced to its proximity to New York City. He’s proud to say he’s from the city and not “30 minutes from Brooklyn.”

“To see a lot of the changes that have taken place, they have been for the better. It only becomes a problem when people who have put their roots here; families that are second, third, and fourth generation, can’t afford to live there anymore and are pushed out,” he said. “But if it’s about making life better for the people who have roots and memories here, people who have made Jersey City what it is, then that’s a good thing.” 

As the days wind down to the annual event, Wilson is issuing a challenge to Jersey City Mayoral Candidate Joyce Waterman. 

“As a Jersey City kid, I truly believe that Joyce Waterman will be the next Mayor of Jersey City, and she has to be at the show,” he says. “I need the future Mayor of Jersey City to be at my show.” He then quipped, “If she doesn’t, I will claim Hoboken as my hometown.” 

Much of Wilson’s comedy stems from his upbringing as a “sheltered church kid.” He is currently performing his “Hello, My Name Is Kasaun” stand-up tour, which will take him to Art House Productions in Jersey City, where he will perform during the Comedy Festival for an hour on Wednesday, June 11, at 8 p.m. This past week, Wilson’s tour took him to Nashville, and he also appeared on Michael Colyar’s Morning Show. 

Wilson currently resides in Los Angeles, California, with his wife Tiffany, whom he’s been married to for eight years. 

There will be 48 comics from around the U.S. and Canada performing during this year’s Jersey City Comedy Festival, where they will compete for cash, attention from the industry, and the title of Best of the Fest. Audiences will get to vote for their favorite comics, picking from each showcase as they move on to the final, where two winners will be decided for Audience Choice and Industry Choice, walking away with $1,000 and spots at major comedy clubs. Tickets can be found online at https://jerseycitycomedyfestival.com.