Jon Stewart, Dave Chappelle to appear at WYSO benefit in Dayton

Comedians Dave Chappelle and Jon Stewart will appear together at a benefit for Yellow Springs radio station WYSO on Feb. 13 at the Schuster Center in Dayton.
Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Jan. 30, online and in person at the Schuster Center box office.

On the surface, Dave Chappelle and Jon Stewart seemingly have little in common, but both strive for a similar goal: maintaining independent voices.

So, it’s fitting that the two comedians will pair up for an appearance benefiting a radio station dedicated to independent journalism.

WYSO, a community-owned station in Yellow Springs, where Chappelle lives, is gearing up for a move with “Radio Guide Presents: The Relocation Celebration.” The series of events will launch with “WYSO After Dark” featuring Chappelle and Stewart in conversation at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 13, at Dayton’s Benjamin & Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center.

“We see them as aligned even though they’re very different,” said Luke Dennis, general manager of WYSO, the flagship NPR member station for the Miami Valley, including Dayton and Springfield.

“They’re two of the most important voices calling out how dangerous it is that First Amendment rights are being trampled, that we’re seeing censorship of important voices and legacy media capitulating to the Trump administration.”

Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. Jan. 30 online at daytonlive.org and in person at the Schuster Center box office. Tickets cannot be purchased by phone until 2 p.m. Jan. 30, if available. There is a four-ticket maximum per household.

Dennis said the evening with Chappelle and Stewart will have a “talk show vibe,” and there will be presentations about WYSO and music by Columbus hip-hop artist Tronee Threat.

It was Chappelle who suggested Stewart for the “After Dark” conversation.

“(Chappelle) has a list of friends he likes to collaborate with, and Jon Stewart is on that list,” Dennis said. “He said yes immediately.”

The WYSO-Chappelle connection dates back several years. The comic, who’s a listener, performed a show for the station in 2019, and his son is a past intern there. Chappelle also owns Union Schoolhouse, the new location for WYSO.