DB5 Comedy Show feat. Shawn Murray & Dame FK
NXTHVN
New Haven
Dec. 19, 2025
“I was the funniest baby in the hospital,” local comedian Shawn Murray said — and honestly, after a night of hilarious jokes and masterful crowd work, it would be hard to argue with him.
Friday night was the third iteration of Murray and his friend Dame FK’s DB5 Comedy Show. They did not prepare for hosting duties at all. Instead, Murray was baking pies. The comedy was gold, and the pies were delectable.
“You can expect me to be up there hawking my pies as much as possible, because, you know…I don’t have a job anymore,” Murray said.
Pies are the last thing you expect to find at a comedy show. But Murray lost his job the day before, and he just happens to be a phenomenal baker. So guests at NXTHVN Friday evening were greeted with signs advertising hand pies — chai spiced apple and blueberry cardamom — being sold, one for $6 or three for $15. The pies were flaky, light and bursting with flavor. In a word, divine.
He may have lost one job but, thankfully, Murray, who lives in New Haven, was on top of his job of selecting comedians for the show. For all his shows, he chooses comedians based on who he thinks is funny. Most were from Connecticut Friday night, one from New York City. It’s not about who is famous or has a bunch of social media followers. Due to Murray’s idols being comic legends like the late Patrice O’Neal, John Mulaney, Rory Scovel and Chelsea Peretti, the author had high hopes. The funnymen (and funnywoman) did not disappoint.
There were many, many penis jokes, of course. Stach Marcedo said that if he were a rapper, his name would be Girth Brooks. In addition to jokes about the male anatomy, all of the comedians brought their lives to the stage.
Dane Calloway, one of Murray’s oldest friends in his 13-year comedy career, shared a story about working with kids on the autism spectrum. One kid, with brutal honesty, told Calloway that he was “his third favorite comedian.”
Timeless Johnnie said, “I don’t tell jokes; I tell my life,” then proceeded to share a howl-inducing tale about being kicked out of New Hope Baptist Church in New Haven.
Talent Harris Jr. professed that he’s more pro-black during the winter: “We should be in Africa!” Alaina Bamfield got vulnerable and revealed that she has two dogs with her ex, but her ex has a baby with her coworker.
In between sets, Murray reflected on immigration and how he’s not mad about immigrants supposedly taking jobs. Rather he’s upset that they’re taking “our hoes.” The outspoken audience did not seem to love at least one of his jokes – “Anybody else ever feel like the only reason you haven’t killed yourself yet is because you have ADHD?” – but like it or not, you couldn’t deny that it was well-constructed. (The author found it hilarious.)
Even when jokes didn’t land, the comedians were able to regain their footing and keep the crowd laughing and laughing.
Murray said he thinks that constructing a joke is all about perspective. He’s looking for comedians to have a take on a topic from a personal standpoint or from a macro lens. “When the approach to the joke made me think, ‘I never thought of it that way.’ Or ‘I wish I wrote that joke,’ that’s funny to me.” He also admires the intelligence of the comedians that he selected for the show, and the fact that they don’t try too hard to prove that they’re smart on stage.
As far as his craft goes, reading has influenced Murray’s comedy the most. Reading the Way of Things by Daniel Coffeen is a book that really affected his worldview. One takeaway was that one should look at the “material reality” of the world but work to “shift how it’s looked at later on.” That indeed sounds like the job of a comedian. He is very particular about words and cited comedian Damien Lemon as another influence due to his extensive vocabulary. Celebrated writer George Orwell has also shaped his studious, intentional approach to joke construction. He said that Orwell’s method of writing a book involved starting with a larger subject like communism or socialism, then working backward to reach the point he was trying to make.
It’s probably no surprise that Murray is also a writer of all genres, including poetry.
In 2026, Murray wants to bake more, make more videos, bring his podcast back and just make a business out of making entertainment “in whatever form.” He also dreams of owning a food truck or storefront someday to sell his food (he makes a mean mac and cheese, apparently) and baked goods.
Maybe losing his job was the best thing to happen to Murray after all. He was going to quit anyway.
You can check Shawn Murray’s work out on Instagram at @lowbrowshawn. Maybe DM him to buy some pies? It is the holiday season after all. You can see him at his next show,“Read the Room Comedy,” at Possible Futures on Jan. 31.
