A little over a dozen comedians competed in the Laugh Hard Challenge at Rock Island’s Speakeasy, but in the end, after three weekends of competition, the winner was Mike Lucas from Iowa City.  He takes home $1000 and will headline the stand up showcase on November 12 at the Speakeasy, 1828 3rd Ave., Rock Island. In addition to Lucas, the comedians who attempted the challenge that began Aug. 6 at the Speakeasy in Rock Island were Todd Willhite of Sherrard, Illinois; Mike Adrales of Davenport; Ty Wilson of Lloydminster, Alberta, Canada; Brandon Gale of Rock Island; David Terrell Green of Omaha,... Read More

The Speakeasy Laugh Hard Challenge is a stand-up comedy competition where comics from around the Midwest compete for the win. The first round of preliminaries was held Saturday, Aug. 6 at the Circa 21 Speakeasy, 1818 3rd Avenue in Rock Island. Hosted by James Draper, there were 14 comedians in the first round. Judges included Tiffany Lundberg from WHBF, Brett Hitchcock, owner and operator of the Speakeasy, and Andrew King, host of weekly shows at Boozies in Davenport as well as the former host of the Quad-Cities only live late night talk show The After Hour. The comedians who attempted the challenge... Read More