‘I hear it could get kind of wild’: Comedian Erica Sigurdson coming to Calgary for Stampede Stand-up

Erica Sigurdson is one of the featured comedians for the first-ever Stampede Stand-up. Stampede Stand-up is at the BMO Centre on Friday, July 11.

Comedian Erica Sigurdson isn’t sure what to expect from the first-ever Stampede Stand-Up.

“I hear it could get kind of wild. I may feel like I’m riding a bull trying to hold on for eight seconds,” Sigurdson told CTV News.

No matter what happens, it won’t come close to the drama Sigurdson experienced performing for troops in Afghanistan, when the airfield in Kandahar came under Taliban fire.

“They bombed us three times in one night. So, we’d go into a bomb shelter, there’d be an all-clear, we’d come back. They bombed us during, I think, Mark Critch’s set. We had to leave and then I was the next comic up and it was very unnerving to walk out on stage,” Sigurdson said.

“It was the scariest gig but it was also the most rewarding and the best gig too.”

Sigurdson said she knew she was meant for stand-up as soon as she tried it.

“I invited 50 friends and family to come and watch me for my very first set, which is really a lot of pressure,” Sigurdson said.

“I loved it. The first second I had the mic in my hand, the lights in my face, and the first laugh that I got, I just knew this was what I was going to do for the rest of my life.”

The Stampede Stand-Up is Friday, July 11, at the BMO Centre.

The show is free with gate admission, although you can also purchase reserved VIP seating on the Calgary Stampede’s website.