(from Billboard, November 4, 2003)   Walter Latham, creator of the Kings of Comedy tour, is hoping to hit big again with the Crown Royal Comedy Soul Festival. Unlike the Kings of Comedy tour, the Comedy Soul Festival will incorporate music. This is the first time a tour like this has been developed. The program includes Earth, Wind, and Fire and the Isley Brothers, as well as several up and coming comedians. The 20 date tour starts November 13 at the Phillips Arena in Atlanta, and finishes up at the Oakland Arena. Although ticket sales have been slow, hopes are still high that the tour will do well. Latham says that the core audience of African-Americans tends to be late ticket buyers, so he is impressed by the 10,000 tickets sold on the first day. Even with the positive indicators, however, he says he is glad that the tour is limited to 20 dates, leaving room for ancillary revenues from a possible television special and DVD sales.

Verdine White of Earth, Wind, and Fire says "Musicians and comedians have a lot in common--they both entertain people." For that reason, there is a lot of confidence in the tour. In fact, Latham guaranteed 70 percent overall attendance to Crown Royal, the title sponsor. In exchange for the sponsorship, Crown Royal is primarily covering the tour's marketing expenses. It is advertising the tour with visual displays at Crown Royal retailers as well as sending emails to the 750,000 members of the Society of Crown, their web-based benefits club. Crown Royal has already contracted with Latham for the second installment of the Comedy Soul Festival at a time still to be determined.

Bringing in legendary musical groups should broaden the consumer base. Adding acts like Earth, Wind, and Fire and the Isley Brothers appeal to all groups of people. Bryan Blaum, General Manager of the Compaq Center in Houston says the Comedy Soul Festival takes Kings of Comedy to a new level; it appeals to a broader audience.