Boston grassroots comedy on the rise ‘glADDY8rs: Stand Up Comedy Death Battle’ expands fall run to include “late night” dates at the North End’s Improv Asylum

The fall run of the grassroots comedy show, glADDY8rs, opens at The Rockwell on Friday, September 4, 2026 at 9:30pm, featuring 23 Boston-area comics in a self-described “Stand Up Comedy Death Battle,” where audience members vote when to kick comedians off the stage until a sole comic remains. Hosted by stand up comic and Improv Asylum Wednesday Company Cast Member, Addy Gover, glADDY8rs – pronounced “gladiators” – is expanding its fall run to include six dates across two popular comedy venues, Somerville’s Rockwell Theatre and Improv Asylum in Boston’s North End, in order to meet the ever-growing appetite for indie comedy in Boston.

“I define the show by the audience’s experience, rather than just a lineup of comics,” said Addy Gover, the show’s creator, producer, host, and namesake, “The glADDY8rs show will go back and forth between laughing at the standup, and the thrill of turning into an angry mob with a room of 200 people.” With an emphasis on spotlighting new and up-and-coming Boston-area talent, Gover has led other notable indie-scene productions, including Somerville’s Atomic Comedy. They continued, “I don’t know what I would do if we weren’t growing.”

To complement the abundant appetite for local stand-up in Boston, glADDY8rs will expand to include “glADDY8rs: Late Night” at Improv Asylum in Boston’s North End, opening on Friday, September 18, 2026 at 11:30pm. The “Late Night” format, an abbreviated and intoxicated version of the flagship show, will feature a similar competitive style and plenty of local comics. The expansion follows glADDY8rs multiple sell-out dates at Somerville-favorite venues, Arts at the Armory and, later, the 200-seat Rockwell Theatre, over the course of the past year.

Additional shows as part of the Fall 2026 run will take place at both Somerville’s Rockwell Theatre and Boston’s Improv Asylum through December.

Fall Run Dates

glADDY8rs

• Friday, September 4, 2026 | 9:30PM

• The Rockwell (255 Elm St, Somerville, MA 02144)

glADDY8rs Late Night

• Friday, September 18, 2026 | 11:30PM – 12:30AM

• Improv Asylum (216 Hanover St, Boston, MA 02113)

glADDY8rs

• Friday, October 2, 2026 | 9:30PM

• The Rockwell (255 Elm St, Somerville, MA 02144)

glADDY8rs Late Night

• Friday, October 16, 2026 | 11:30PM – 12:30AM

• Improv Asylum (216 Hanover St, Boston, MA 02113)

glADDY8rs

• Friday, November 20, 2026 | 9:30PM

• The Rockwell (255 Elm St, Somerville, MA 02144)

glADDY8rs

• Friday, December 18, 2026 | 9:30PM

• The Rockwell (255 Elm St, Somerville, MA 02144)

Tickets can be purchased by visiting www.gladdy8rs.com. Updates can be found at @gladdy8rs on Instagram.