Born in Germany to an American father and a French mother, Watts moved around a lot as a child before settling in Montana. He remarked in an interview on the podcast "Employee of the Month" that he got into music by listening to Ray Charles.
When he was 18, Watts moved to Seattle and played in various bands for over a decade. In 2002, he was forced to downgrade his loop pedal to a model that was easier to travel with. He soon realized that he could duplicate harmonies with this pedal and began performing shows that infused these looped vocalizations with stand-up comedy.
Since then, Watts's profile has soared. Examples of his work include a Radiohead parody that lampoons frontman Thom Yorke's trademark falsetto, a video of Watts at his kitchen table making a song out of many different looped layers and even a TED talk in which he disorients his audience in amusing ways, using only his voice.
Watts last visited Dartmouth in the summer of 2011, when he performed two sold-out shows in Bentley Theater. What makes Watts' performances unique is that no two shows are alike, said Margaret Lawrence, director of programming for the Hopkins Center.
"He is just so funny and creative," Lawrence said. "The last time he was here, he played two shows and there was not word in common between either of them. He has this extraordinary brain that's fun and eccentric and you don't know what he's going to say next."
Sean Gao '13, a Hop student relations advisor, noted that Watts's improvisation sets him apart from other stand-up comedians.
"Watching any of his performances is always a blast," Gao said. "What makes it really funny is that it really is seldom something that you'll expect. It's off-the-wall and highly relevant to the audience."
Due to his tour stops in Burlington and Concord, Watts will not participate in any workshops or visit any classes.
"We wanted this to be a big introduction to the first-year students in general, and we thought ,What better event than Reggie Watts?'" Lawrence said. "We set aside a lot of tickets for Dartmouth students and a vast majority of the house will be Dartmouth students."
All ticket holders will be invited to an after-party with Watts at the Top of the Hop after the show. The general attitude amongs students is positive to Watts's upcoming performance.
"I like a lot of stand-up comics like Louis C.K. and Hannibal Buress, and they're great and everything, but Watts is just like, so unique and cool," said Tom Dexter-Rice '15. "I don't think there's anyone out there who does what he does, and I'm really excited to get to see it in person."
