Amber Preston
Upbeat Fargo cheer deployed to deliver surprisingly blue punchlines.
1 special · 2020
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Amber Preston brings the neighborly energy of a church potluck to the stage, then uses it to deliver unexpectedly filthy punchlines. She paces the room with an upbeat momentum, anchoring her material in the singsong cadence of her Fargo upbringing. When she imitates her relatives, she does more than a regional accent. She adopts their specific passive-aggressive rhythms, raising her pitch to mimic her mother or dropping her voice to a flat, deadpan grumble to capture her stoic father. She speaks to the crowd like they just walked into her kitchen.
Specials
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Upper Midwest regional charm meets surprisingly dirty jokes.
Stand Up! Records · Album
On stage
That adaptability makes her a bridge between alternative rooms and traditional clubs. She built an early reputation as a comic who could kill in a dive bar or a theater, and she maintains that utility in Los Angeles. She hosts showcases and anchors a network of Midwest transplant comics, bringing a reliable, working-club muscle to indie spaces.
Her material hits hardest when it is heavily personal. On her 2020 album Sparkly Parts, her jokes about navigating her family’s emotional repression are affectionate but sharp. She gets a lot of mileage out of contrasting her own sunny demeanor with the absurdities of California living. Her purely observational premises occasionally feel lighter by comparison, mostly because her real strength is character work. She is funniest when she is fully inhabiting the people she left behind.
Growing up in North Dakota and spending years working at a venture capital firm in Minneapolis gives her comedy a grounded baseline. She approaches the stage with the perspective of someone who already lived a regular adult life before packing up for the coast.
Turning points
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Named Marc Maron Top Comic to Watch
Marc Maron named Preston one of his top five comedians to watch in Vulture, praising her versatility and stage presence across intimate clubs and large theaters.
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Won Best of the Midwest Competition
Preston won the Best of the Midwest standup competition held at Gilda's Laughfest in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
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Chart-Topping Debut Album Sparkly Parts
Released her debut album on Stand Up! Records during the COVID-19 pandemic quarantine, debuting at number one on both the iTunes and Amazon comedy charts.
At a glance
- Style
- autobiographical, observational, storytelling
- Breakout
- Sparkly Parts
- Topics
- Elsewhere
- Website, Wikipedia
Fans also like
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Andy Erikson
Both comedians cut their teeth in the Minneapolis standup scene before relocating to Los Angeles, where they co-created and co-hosted the showcase Punchline Punchout at the Hollywood Improv.
Also on screen
- Breakables
- Killer
- Marc Maron: Too Real
- The Poacher
- Wild for the Night
A clip to start with
Amber Preston at Acme Comedy Company