After doing stand up for a handful of years, Annie’s friend and fellow comedian, Joe Pettis asked her to cohost a religious satire comedy show, “Holy Shit Show” at a local dive bar. Joe mentored Annie and gave her stage-time to hone in her hosting. Joe is known in Atlanta as one of the premiere stand-up comedy show hosts and producers. This mentorship greatly aided in her growth as a host and comedian. Early on, she was able to use her professionalism and undiagnosed perfectionism to keep a show running on time, warm up the crowd, help promote the comedians performing, help recover from a bomb, pace the show, and ensure that everyone feels welcome.
Joe added as co-host Annie to his popular show “8-Bit Comedy” at a vintage video game bar, Joystick. While hosting the show in tandem, it grew exponentially. Comedians from all over the country knew this tiny room with blacklight always had a crowd that spilled into the hallways. Comedians like Tim Dillon, Mike Lawrence, Jessica Michelle Singleton, Matthew Broussard, and countless more would always ask to be on. That is a huge compliment to the hosts and the community they built. Even Adult Swim and HBO/Discovery/Time Warner/Turner (or whatever monopoly now owns it) filmed segments and sourced comedians for their tv projects. Two years in, “8-Bit” was named by Rolling Stone. as “One of the Coolest Things to Discover in Atlanta.”
Until present, she still is hosting but in a larger scope. Notably, Annie has emceed on almost 50 music, comedy, and food festival cruises. With her stand-up background and improv training, Annie picked up hosting on Sixthman’s legion of festival cruises such as “Bert Kreischer’s Fully Loaded at Sea.” “Flogging Molly’s Salty Dog Cruise,” “The Broadway Cruise,” “Bananaland at Sea,” “Chris Jerricho’s Rock ‘N Wrestling Rager at Sea” and many more. Annie has mastered the art of hosting karaoke on the cruises. She knows how to keep the show moving and making it about the guest. Everyday at sea meant a different hosting opportunity and a way to bring joy. It’s ranged from hosting “Name that Showtune with Wayne Brady,” a fashion show with Bob Mackie, Bellyflop Competition with the Impractical Jokers, a vow renewal with Pat Monihan from the band Train, to a whiskey tasting with CJ Ramone from The Ramones, Pinch from The Damned, and Dennis Casey from Flogging Molly.
There is nothing that brings more joy to Annie than being on stage and at the helm of a live show. It’s a calling she’s finally answered, like the vision is now in focus. The following are quotes taken from guest surveys after their cruise:
“Annie was wonderful with Wayne Brady. She should be the cruise director.”
“Annie is an awesome host and did a fantastic job! So joyful, encouraging, and fun!”
“Yes Annie!!! She was amazing!! She should do the [whiskey] tastings always. She made us feel like we are a part of the conversation but a bystander and asked great questions.”
This is what Matt “The Young Professor” Graifer from the Savannah Bananas, “Annie has so much poise and professionalism, it’s not even funny. A genuine highlight of mine on the cruise was working alongside her during the Newlywed Game in particular, and I’d love to work with her again in the future. I can tell you this: I’ve hosted nearly 2,000 live events in front of MILLIONS of fans and am a pretty thorough judge of what I see in hosts, and I genuinely feel that she is among the top of hosts I’ve seen or interacted with.”
Until Annie has representation for hosting, she can be booked via Gig Salad
Annie Lockwood 