LUKE SEVEREID

9 Sept

America’s Heaviest Comedian Returns!

Tuesday 8th September 2026

Written by: Tom Wilson
Photographed by: Rashid AlKamraikhi

The Sit Down Comedy Club is hosting a sea of black t-shirts tonight as metalhead comedian Luke Severeid returns to Australia for the second time in two years, and the PA is cranking the riffs as we take our seats and are introduced to the opening act.

Last time I saw JACK KNIGHT was at Shellshocked, the veteran’s comedy night, and he absolutely killed. The crowd tonight are quickly on board with his material about the cost-of-living crisis, and how it affects his relationship with his dog. His self-depreciating cracks at his scruffy appearance call to mind Dave Attell at his best, leaning into the fact that he currently looks like the weirdo on the bus you hope doesn’t sit next to you. He gets a decent set length tonight, and powers through twenty minutes without a lull, before announcing the end of his set by saying that his ankle bracelet’s about to go off. Awesome.

LUKE SEVEREID came to Australia for the first time as part of KNOTFEST, and he’s wearing his shirt from it onstage tonight. If you had to design Luke Severeid in a video game, first thing you’d do is max out the slider for “comedy” and “metal”, then grab the sliders for “hair” and “focus” and drag them a long way in the opposite direction. He tells us that he’s embracing the chaos and growing out his “skullet”, giving him an appearance that’s halfway between Bill Bailey and Devin Townsend (before they both shaved their heads). He talks at length about his relationship, and he sounds like he’s in a pretty good place in life, which is nice to hear.
He has a dog-eared book of material sitting off to one side, but he barely checks it throughout the set as he barrels forward on tangent after tangent, and we’re all the better for it. You can draw a lot of parallels between Luke and Nat “Nat’s What I Reckon” Bartolo. They’re both hysterical, they both love their metal, and they’re both massively neurodivergent and prone to getting distracted mid-thought, but the chaos is part of the magic, and the Sit Down Comedy Club’s audience is here for it.
If you’re in the position to check out his shows in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, do yourself a favour, because he’s in incredible form!