LOCAL EVENTS
The Porch has been a constant spot for live music in San Marcos most nights of the week. The bar has opened their stage up to the stand-up community with Punchlines at The Porch (formerly Comedy Confessionals), a monthly open mic hosted by local comedian, Mitchell McMullen. The showcase is every third Sunday of the month with sign-ups at 7:30 p.m. The show starts at 8 p.m. and is for people 18 years old and up.
McMullen started performing stand up comedy a year ago in early 2024, but he has always been comedic.
“I think watching so much comedy growing up has just programmed my brain to always think of something as a joke,” McMullen said. “It helps in day to day tasks, but it was quite frowned upon during my time in the Army.”
He transferred his talents to photography, working for Leading Edge Helicopters capturing the customers during their flight experience.
“After doing that for two years and making people of all different backgrounds laugh, even if we didn’t understand each other’s languages, I figured I’d give it a shot on a bigger scale,” Mc-Mullen said.
He pursued comedy with the help of his friend Mitchell Meitler who gave McMullen a comedy spot opening up Mitcha- palooza 2022. After a herniated disc injury put him out of commission for months, McMullen started to recover and found himself at Wake The Dead’s weekly open mic.
“Once I was able to walk, I went to Wake The Dead Coffee for their weekly Tuesday Open Mic and fell in love with it and haven’t looked back since,” McMullen said.
The open mic at The Porch started in November of 2024 and hosts local comedians and beginners once a month. The February showcase gave the spotlight to 15 performers.
“This last one had the best turn out yet from comedians as well as the audience,” McMullen said. “We had a few professionals like Michael Nieto, Britney Teague, Jack Schutzee, Jack Neil, Jason Johnson and Blake Bolton. We even managed to get a few audience members on the microphone for their first time, which was a sight to see.”
The Porch allows for access to the show in multiple ways. There’s a circular bar, so guests can sit close to the stage while still having access to drinks and food.
Check out Punchlines at The Porch every month. McMullen also hosts game nights at Jacks Roadhouse every Monday at 8 p.m. He guest hosts at the Wake the Dead Comedy nights here and there but is always performing at their Tuesday open mic at 7:30 p.m.
One can keep up to date with his comedy and events on his instagram at @mcmullencomedy69 and check out all the live music and event offerings at The Porch on their instagram @theporchsmtx
“ Once I was able to walk, I went to Wake The Dead Coffee for their weekly Tuesday Open Mic and fell in love with it and haven’t looked back since.
–MITCHELL MCMULLEN LOCAL COMEDIAN
”
Mitchell McMullen keeps the crowd laughing while hosting Punchlines at The Porch, a monthly stand up comedy open mic. Daily Record photo by Rebekah Porter
