Steven Marcus Releford’s Popup Comedy Injects Levity into Vegan Scene
Steven Marcus Releford performing at Cafe Red, March 2026.
The Evergreen Echo
Vegan. Black. Comedy.
Those aren’t words that come up in the same sentence—let alone the same event—ever, if at all. But Steven Marcus Releford is changing the landscape of how we perceive standup comedy at the intersections of Blackness, veganism, and West Coast vibes.
On the chilliest of March evenings, Cafe Red hosted Releford’s popup comedy show, complete with who wouldn’t really be called “openers” so much as how he phrases it, “and friends.”
Cafe Red is well known in the Puget Sound vegan scene and a hotspot for lefty discussions and mutual aid (with hands down the best vegan mac ‘n cheese in Western Washington, respectfully). Tiny on the inside and replete with Link Rail’s regular bells, its rear patio is a prime small spot to host anyone with a mic. Thankfully the outside heaters were on full blast, and even though the cold metal chairs kept folks awake, Cafe Red’s hot food and tasty beverages kept everyone cozy and attentive.
Seattle’s comedy scene is generally perceived as a mixed bag. What to do when we no longer have the likes of Almost Liveto keep Seattle laughing at itself (as our city so desperately needs)? If you're not paying $300 for a celebrity at Paramount, then you're getting $10 of improv that doesn’t guarantee a good time. If you’re lucky, maybe you can catch an open mic on that random sort of hidden schedule you caught on social media that one time.
Enter Releford. He's not a Puget Sound local, but he visits our neck of the woods enough to play here. In so doing, he's helping vegan establishments get extra butts in seats and the community at large some much-needed levity. In a society that constantly tells vegans they’re the “crazies” and “weirdos” and “too serious,” it’s a breath of fresh air to hear from a comedian who gets it.
This is your sign to try Cafe Red’s vegan mac ‘n cheese.
The Evergreen Echo
Releford’s “and friends” consisted of Corey Young, Gary King Clark, and Anyi Malik. They’re omni (read: omnivorous), but it was clear they were in fact friends with Releford and all supported each other as they performed their sets. Like any comedy show, they carried their own energy and personality for each joke, and they warmed up the audience with a plethora of topics like work life, families, dating, language, and aging. “Leave it to white folks to gentrify being a playa’,” laughed one comedian who was likely aware of Seattle’s running gag about The Greater Seattle Polycule (if you know, you know).
After the show, Releford was kind enough to spare me a few moments; although I’ve seen plenty of standup, this was the first time I'd seen someone comfortably intersectional and not blatantly shooting for a million dollar paycheck.
Mary (M): Why specifically vegan comedy for you?
Steven Marcus Releford (SMR): You know, vegan comedy just worked out because I've been doing comedy for 15 years, and I've also been vegan for about 14, close to 15 years, as well, and it just became something where I wanted to do what I love to do, which is comedy, and also do on a consistent basis, which is eating. So I connected the two and it just worked out that way because comedy clubs, they only book based on popularity…and vegan restaurants are just looking for an influx of having people come in. [sic]
M: Have you encountered any differences in the audiences being at the intersection of Black and vegan? Have you experienced anything weird?
SMR: I wouldn’t say I’ve experienced anything weird. I would say on the front end, ultimately people who come out to my shows, regardless of what they look like, is typically people who resonate with my comedy. So Black, white, Asian, anything in between …I’ve always been surprised. I did a show in Daly City (north of San Francisco) and it was like 60-70% Indian, and I was like how the hell all these Indian people hear about my show? What is it about what I'm doing that attracts them? Same thing happened when I went to [a town in] Colorado, 90% [of the audience] appeared to be hick-like. Country white people, like ‘howdy partner’…and I was like ‘Whoa.’
But these people loved my comedy! …You just want to be in a space of alignment and constructive. Because I think your audience is always there, it’s just a matter of carving out the space. So when people ask me ‘what do you think about Seattle? What do you think about Portland?’ People always ask “what do you think of” their city. Even when I lived in Texas…I was fortunate to find good areas to where it wasn’t that I was ignorant of what was possible, but 8-9 times out of 10, I was in a good space. And I feel like it’s the same with doing these shows that I've been doing {the popup comedy tour at vegan spaces].
People always ask me what do you think about the audience …recently it’s always more a matter of let me be more receptive...when it comes to production, when it comes to finding a venue, getting people out, so let me be in a space where it’s gonna work out. Like I said, 9 times outta 10, 10 out of 10, it works out. Even though the circumstances may say otherwise. Even though the circumstances may say, “you know you’re going here, you know you’re going to this part of town” and I have to be like, ‘Yo, people who fuck with whatever sense of humor that I have, and what I’m putting together, they’re gonna find me.’
And it happens! I’ve had people drive 2, 3, 4 hours to come see me. …When people tell me “I saw you on TikTok/Facebook/Instagram,” I appreciate that from the bottom of my heart, cuz as an artist…it’s less about fame and money and more about ‘can I just do what I love.’ I don't care if I was in China or Japan…If I can do what I love I don't care where I am. If people are able to come out and support what I'm doing, you could put me in Norway, it really wouldn’t matter. …I feel like as an artist your job is to both be receptive to the magic and also put your own thing together. You also can’t wait for anybody, but you also just have to make room for magic. And I feel like that's the secret sauce. Today, right now, it’s just like…be willing to make your space. Don't depend…but also make space for people to leave room for magic to be, cuz once they see what you’re doing, they're gonna be like ‘oh I see what you're doing.’ Your job is just to set up a space for them to know what you’re doing.
Releford doing his thing
The Evergreen Echo
M: So I follow some standup comedians, and everyone’s number one joke is that they’re not getting rich off of it. What does it mean to you to carve out this space, do these popups, and be a standup comedian? What does it mean to be doing this according to your values and art and how’ve you seen that develop?
SMR: It means everything, cuz it’s fun. It’s a sense of freedom, and that sense of freedom means more than anything. Literally right now where I'm at is I can pick up a phone and say, ‘hey I would like to do a show here, can you fit 80, 60, 50 people? And they say ‘yeah’? I’m doing it. It has nothing to do with whether the Comedy Store books me or the Laugh Factory or whether any of the Seattle clubs book me. It’s literally of my own volition…so that is what gives me gas and gives me the energy, gives me the momentum, gives me the motivation to be like, ‘There’s nothing you can’t do’ because…it’s really on me, it’s not fully on someone telling you yes or no. It's really on ‘yo do you want to make this happen?’ and if I wanna make it happen, I can make it happen.
As opposed to the other side of artistry is like waiting on other people to give you opportunity. And that’s what I find I’m diving in the most, is discovering that area of not waiting on people to give me opportunity, and I'm just cultivating and finding opportunity out of nothing. Literally I'm reaching out to gyms, thrift stores, vegan restaurants, animal sanctuaries, and anything in between that may overlap with either healthy lifestyle, vegan, whatever, just being in a space of being deliberate. Any deliberate space…and they’re showing me love.
M: That’s awesome. All right, last question. Most outrageous, weird, fucked up, or funny thing an omni has ever said to you?
SMR: First thing that comes to mind is me making breakfast in the morning, and an omni roommate comes up behind me and goes, “Hey what are those things that you’re eating? Are those like…vegan balls? Some type of vegan balls? What type of vegan balls are those?” I’m like, “These are potatoes.” [I crack up.] “Yo I'm just eating…potatoes. You thinking that I'm doing something extra because I'm vegan—I'm just eating potatoes. Roasted potatoes.”
Every demographic, large or small, deserves to feel represented in diverse art forms. There may be other vegan comedians out there—whether they announce it in their acts or not—but Steven Marcus Releford is here in the community, up and down the West Coast, making everyone feel welcome.
Before you ask, Omni: No, not every show is about what vegans eat or why they don’t eat animals, but I guarantee you’ll find something in his act that resonates with your life. This vegan is just glad there’s finally someone on stage representing us well and hilariously, with good vibes, great laughs, and awesome intentions.
