Sam Morril is ramping up for his 2025 headline comedy tour, “The Errors Tour,” a play on Taylor Swift’s record-breaking “Eras Tour.” Morril spoke with The Eagle ahead of his stop in D.C. on Feb. 7. The interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
The Eagle: I’d love to know if you knew you wanted to go into this field by the time you were in college. Could you tell me about that time in your life?
Sam Morril: I did actually. My first time on stage was right after high school, when school was ending. And then, I was handing out flyers in my free time for stage time when I was in college. When I briefly went to Tulane University, I kind of got to choose some of the comics they’d bring down, because I had a good set in front of one of the comics they brought down … I already kind of knew I liked stand-up a lot. It was kind of all on you. You could choose how hard you were gonna work or how not hard you were gonna work.
TE: Was that time in college enriching for you, or did you feel bogged down by having to still be in school?
SM: I definitely felt like I was missing out socially a little bit because I had friends who were like, “Oh, there’s this party tonight.” And I’m literally handing flyers out in the street and stuff like that. But I also really like stand-up. I liked being around comics. So I did feel like I was bonding with a different type of people at that time. So, you know, it was just a choice, and I think I figured if this doesn’t work out, it’ll just be a chapter in my life.
TE: So we’re in D.C., and I know comedians sometimes say political jokes play differently here. Have you found that to be true?
SM: Good question. I haven’t been [to D.C.] in a couple years. I think the crowd seems to be informed … but I don’t know if it plays differently. I think maybe they’re expecting it. I’ll do current events and I’ll do … social commentary, but I try to keep it from being red versus blue in my act. Clearly, of course, I’ll shit on a particular person. But I think when you draw the line too clearly, like, there’s enough division. It’s everywhere, so for me pouring gasoline on fire is kind of pointless when you’re trying to give people a good night out. There’s ways to do it, I think, and I’ve done it, but I think it’s a line, you know, similar to a dark joke. There’s a line to be walked.
TE: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received recently?
SM: Honestly, make your own shit. It’s more satisfying. Just make your own stuff and don’t wait for anyone. You have to have money to do it. You have to have made money, but then I also think what else would I rather spend money on than this? I’m not really into cars or anything. What would I rather spend money on than just making comedy? So I think if you surround yourself with really funny people and you make something that you like, then I think bet on yourself.
TE: Anything you’re specifically looking forward to experiencing in D.C.?
SM: Geez. I mean, the Warner Theatre is awesome. That’s something I’m looking forward to. I love that theater. I thought about filming specials there in the past, but we’re hitting it too early in the tour, so we probably won’t do it there. I’m grateful because I remember headlining weekends at The Big Hunt, which was awesome. I had such a great time headlining there. So I think going back to these cities where you really started at the absolute bottom and had to build your audience, and then you can fill theaters, it’s really satisfying. So I think, I mean, that’s to me, that’s a big part of it. I know these cities and I really, you know, I love what I do. I was grateful to be doing those bar weekends. I still try to approach a theater week in the same way I do a bar: Just give them a good show and hope they come back again. And if I go back to a bar at some point, it’s all right.
TE: What’s a piece of advice you would give to students now about pursuing comedy?
SM: Well, the truth is, I don’t really know about getting into stand up now, because it’s changed so much from when I started. So my advice would probably sound out of touch now. For me, it was: get on stage as much as possible. That’s what comics would tell me … that’s the only way to be a good stand up. And now there’s comics making a living [online]. I guess it’s good and bad. There’s other avenues. But also it’s not great because, you know, they’re not going to get better … Your currency was your act back in the day when I started. It wasn't like some other thing, like a podcast or, you know, TikTok or something like that. So my advice would still be like, if you want to be a really good stand up, do everything you can do. Tour the country before you’re ready. You know, I was cold emailing bookers every 10 days and following up because I wanted to be a road comic, because that’s what the comics I liked were doing. So I think look at what the comics you like are doing, and emulate them in a creative way. Find your own spin on their trajectory.
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“The Errors Tour” kicks off on Feb. 4 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Tickets for Morril’s show at D.C.’s Warner Theatre can be found on his website.
This article was edited by Cara Halford, Tyler Davis and Abigail Turner. Copy editing done by Charlie Mennuti.
