Trey Kennedy goes from online comic sensation to stand-up at Stark County Fair

Comedian Trey Kennedy pokes fun of cliché marriage proposals in an elaborate video skit that has garnered nearly 1 million YouTube views.

Set outdoors, the video is wildly over the top and features towering pines, a candle-lit trail, love song performed on acoustic guitar, the reading of a Bible verse and trees bearing signs designating relationship milestones.

During the five-minute video, Kennedy alternates between portraying a predictable boyfriend and a melodramatic girlfriend. Dramatic orchestra-style music plays in the background amid squeals of delight from the future bride, who shakes nervously as a glittering ring is slid on her finger.

Chock-full of hokey dialogue, the parody showcases Kennedy's knack for finding humor in relatable, everyday moments.

Other video subjects include weddings, the stages of life, middle schoolers, far left and far right politics, bachelor and bachelorette parties, COVID-19 rules, girl problems versus guy problems, the five phases of a diet, Walmart and Target shoppers, and romantic holiday movies.

The Oklahoma native has parlayed his brand of comedy into a full-time career featuring those videos on various social media platforms, a comedy special, the podcast "Correct Opinions" and a national stand-up tour, which stops this week at the Stark County Fair. This is the first time the fair has featured a comedian for entertainment, and it's Kennedy's first stand-up show at a fair.

The former college finance major will be performing a comedy routine at 8 p.m. Thursday at the grandstands as part of his "Help Me, Help You Working Out New Material Tour." Tickets are $15 to $40 and available online at https://starkcountyfair.com/entertainment or at the fair if tickets are still available.

Trey Kennedy first had comedy success on Vine

Growing up, Kennedy was a huge fan of coach Eddie Sutton and Oklahoma State University basketball.

Watching "Pistol" Pete Maravich instructional videos on VHS, Kennedy wanted to be a pro basketball player when he grew up.

"I was decent but I didn't grow up to be (6 foot 7 inches)," he said.

Comedy wasn't an aspiration until later.

"I was a pretty reserved, shy kid, so there was no performing or entertaining," Kennedy recalled. "There were flashes. I'd like to do that to my friends and family, but on a stage, that didn't cross my mind for many, many years."

"My parents did say they felt like I was destined to do something different, but I don't think they would have guessed comedian," he said. "My dad was a funny guy. My grandpa was a funny guy. But I think we all feel like we have funny dads or funny people, so that was an influence, but to do it professionally, I don't think anyone saw it coming."

Kennedy was a student at Oklahoma State in 2013 when he was making comical video snippets on Vine, a now-defunct short-form video hosting service.

Working in finance in the corporate world lost its appeal after some of his videos went viral on Instagram and YouTube. Now he has 1.2 million subscribers on YouTube, 2.7 million followers on Instagram, 4.7 million followers on Facebook and nearly 200,000 followers on Twitter.

Kennedy's marriage proposal wasn't like the video

Skits and jokes are often based on what Kennedy observes in his own life. But when asked how closely the epic marriage proposal spoof resembled his own, he laughed at the notion.

"Mine was a little more toned down, but still really memorable," said Kennedy, 29. "My wife and I were in Portland for a fun trip with some friends, and then I thought, 'Oh, Portland, that's a beautiful area.' So I kind of did the whole sneaky, 'Hey, we're not actually flying home today. We're staying an extra day.'

"And I had a photographer ready later that day at the end of a hike at the right time with a nice backdrop and popped the question," he recounted. "... She kind of knew what was happening that evening, but it was kind of special and … not too over the top. No friends jumping out of trees or candle-lit forest pathways."

More:What you can't miss at the Stark County Fair: Lerch's, Trey Kennedy, harness race betting

Videos, however, can be extremely labor intensive.

"We make a 30-second Instagram reel for a company that we can knock out very quickly," Kennedy explained. "Or we have a grand idea like the wedding video that took weeks of foresight and planning, and an entire day shoot, and my editor spent who knows how many hours putting that together."

"I mainly have two guys full-time that help me, with a little extra help here and there," he said. "We got a small team, but we're able to really crank out a lot of ideas and videos."

Local actors even were used in the wedding video, which has logged more than 2 million views on YouTube.

Some viewers assumed the actors were actually Kennedy's parents. "They're like, 'Wow, Trey's parents were good at acting,'" Kennedy said with laughter.

"That's the fun part but also the frustrating part, because we've had videos we've spent an hour on go viral, and we've got videos we've spent 40 hours on perform very poorly," Kennedy said. "So you have to kind of just keep going on to the next piece of content, and that can be very rewarding and frustrating all at the same time.

"... You're always kind of a slave to the almighty algorithm."

Enough videos have been seen that Kennedy is now spotted in public. Fans ask for selfies or will chat briefly.

"When I show up to the fair ... there's going to be people there to see me," he said. "It's still kind of hard to wrap my head around. I can't believe people all over the country want to spend their time seeing what I have to say on stage, so it's still real surreal."

Following his breakout on social media, Kennedy admitted that stand-up comedy initially posed a challenge.

"I first tried it out in 2019," he said. "And I found that just trying to grasp like what my voice would be like on stage or my performance just simply took hours and hours of experience. And ... I found ... I'm able to be funny, and it's just about getting on stage repeatedly and finding out what's the funniest joke and just getting more comfortable up there."

Traditional stand-up will be mixed with musical and theatrical bits

At the Stark County Fair, Kennedy plans to localize some of his jokes.

"We always love to tease the locals," he said. "And I've seen photos of the speakers (at the stage) held up by like cranes or something. It's going to be a hilarious experience, so we'll make everyone feel at home.

"We also try to add some elements of musical and theatrical bits," Kennedy added. "So I'm really excited to get up there at the fair and see all the folks who come out, so I think they'll have a good time."

Unbeknownst to some fans, Kennedy is also a talented singer with R&B-influenced pop songs available on Apple Music and other streaming platforms, including from his 2016 EP "Take Me to the River."

Kennedy never gets too heavy with subject matter, and when he makes political jokes, he cracks on both conservatives and liberals.

"Neither side has it 100% right, and both can be quite silly," he said of Republicans and Democrats. "I make fun of girls, I make fun of guys, I make fun of moms and dads − everybody's getting teased because I grew up where teasing was a sign of love, and very much amongst my wife and friends, poking fun at each other's a way of just kind of bringing you closer and laughing and not taking yourself so seriously."

Interacting with the crowd is another highlight of his routine.

"I always love, when it feels right, trying to interact and chat with whoever's out there in the audience," Kennedy said. "So my goal is to just make everyone feel comfortable and kind of feel like we're all in a big party and we're all just laughing together."

Stand-up has gone well enough that Kennedy hopes to tour internationally. Other plans include a wider release of his comedy special.

"We're in conversations with some streamers and we're trying to determine what just makes the most sense," he said. "So hopefully, that will be out fairly soon, which I'm excited for those who haven't been able to see it to get to see it."

On the road, he continues to hone his material while crafting new jokes. "We're hoping to go back out on a big nationwide tour again in 2023," he said.

"And beyond that, we're trying to launch new channels and ramp up our podcast and just trying to put out more high quality content."

Reach Ed at 330-580-8315 and ebalint@gannett.com

On Twitter @ebalintREP

If you go

What: Comedian Trey Kennedy performing at the Stark County Fair

Where: 305 Wertz Ave. NW, Canton

When: 8 p.m. Thursday; gate opens at 6:30 p.m.

Tickets: $15 to $40 and available online at https://starkcountyfair.com/entertainment.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Viral funnyman Trey Kennedy bringing relatable humor to Stark Fair