Standup Bill Burr brings brash style of comedy to Nashville's Bridgestone Arena, 'I'm just being silly'

Anyone who has a sibling remembers their parents at some point saying, "They wouldn't pick on you if they didn't like you."

It's a mantra that is the underbelly of most of what comes out of comedian Bill Burr's mouth.

While widely known for his unfiltered, no-holds-barred comedy where no topic is above a good roast, Burr's brash and opinionated take on, well, everything has earned him Emmy and Grammy award nominations. He recently become the first comedian to perform at (and sell out) 35,000-seat Fenway Park in his hometown of Boston.

"Here's the thing," Burr told The Tennessean. "I would never say those (offensive) things to someone I didn't love. If I don't like someone, I just go, 'Hey, how you doing?' I mean, comedians, that's all we do. I just did a podcast with Jon Lovitz and all we did was insult each other for an hour. People loved it."

Why exactly does Burr think his style of humor is so popular?

"Because, you know, I'm just being silly," he said. "If I do say something to make fun of people, it's usually ridiculous, so it would make me look stupid if I believed it."

Bill's backstory

If you only know Burr from one of his seven standup comedy specials or his "Monday Morning Podcast," you've got some homework to do.

Burr is also an accomplished actor, writer, director and producer, with a resume as strong as his Boston accent.

In 2024 alone, in addition to the Bill Burr Live comedy tour currently canvassing the country, he can be seen in Jerry Seinfeld's Netflix film, "Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart story" and he executive produced and acts in the film "Drugstore June."

"Old Dads," his directorial debut and his debut in a lead role, premiered in October 2023 as the most-watched film worldwide on Netflix during its first and second week on the platform, with 29.6 million views in the first 10 days.

He appeared in "The Mandalorian" and co-created and co-wrote "F Is for Family" alongside Laura Dern, Justin Long and Sam Rockwell.

Early on in his comedy career, Burr saw that he needed to open additional avenues for employment, so 30 years ago, he started taking acting lessons.

"I started out as a comedian and then, you know, I talked to other comics and they were getting opportunities to act and the ones that couldn't act, you only knew one time in this business," he said. "So that first time they see you and then they hand you a script, if you don't know what to do with it, that can set you back years."

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Burr says he has empathy for people who live in Nashville

Burr, who cut his chops early on performing at the comedy club Zanies in Nashville, said there's nothing worse than living in a cool city and everybody around the country all of a sudden wants to move there.

"My favorite thing is when people buy into a place like Nashville and then they go out and buy local people clothes and try and blend in," he said. "And you go to visit them and it's like, 'Did you buy a ranch? Why are you dressed like that?'"

As he embarks on his tour, he says he's got the best 90 minutes (of material) he's ever written.

"I'm having more fun than I've ever had doing standup," he said. "And you know what I'm not talking about on this tour? This stupid presidential election. I'm completely ignoring it. So if you would like a night off from this whole sky is falling type of stuff that people are talking about, my show would be a good one to go see."

If you go:

What: Bill Burr Live

When: Friday, May 17, 7:30 p.m.

Where: Bridgestone Arena

Tickets: www.ticketmaster.com/event/1B005F7EE45264BC

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Bill Burr bringing his best material ever to Nashville tour stop