They say laughter is the best medicine. Brad Upton is not a doctor, but if the weight of the world has you down, Upton has the cure for what ails you. He can be seen at the Empress Theatre in Vallejo on Friday, Feb. 10.

The Seattle comic got his start as a grade school teacher but has made a name for himself in the world of comedy, having performed almost 6,000 shows. In the past, Upton has won the Las Vegas Comedy Festival, performed at Caesar’s Palace as part of the HBO Comedy Festival and has performed with comedy greats like Joan Rivers, Lewis Black and the Smothers Brothers. He also has been the opening act for several notable musicians like Smokey Robinson, Glen Campbell, Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton and George Jones, and he has served as the opening act for Johnny Mathis for the last eight years. Upton’s CD, “Brad Uptonogood,” gets continual play on SiriusXM’s comedy channels.

However, Upton won’t be the only person bringing laughs to the Empress stage that Friday night. The show will feature Ellis Rodriguez, a former Marine who was featured in Kevin Hart’s Comedy Central series “Hart of the City,” “Shaq’s All Star Comedy Jam,” Fox’s “Laughs” and NBC’s “Stand Up for Diversity.”

The show will be hosted by Bay Area comedian Emily Epstein White, who has been featured at the Stand-Up 360 Comedy Festival, the She-Devil Comedy Festival in New York and is an occasional host for San Francisco’s MOTH StorySlam.

The show will begin at 8 p.m., Friday, Feb. 10 at the Empress Theatre, located at 330 Virginia St. in Vallejo. Doors open at 7 p.m. General admission tickets are $15 in advance and $20 the day of the show. For tickets and additional information, call 552-2400 or visit EmpressTheatre.org.

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