Forrest Surber Bio

Entertainment Consultant/Concert Prroducer

Forrest comes to Variety Attractions from Pulaski, Virginia which is located in the New River Valley of the Blue Ridge Mountains. He comes to Variety out of Radford University where he studied Communications and Media Studies.

Because of his fresh, youthful outlook on the entertainment industry and his creative knack for promoting events in the digital age, Forrest is a welcome addition to the Fair and Festival industries. He has been the feature speaker at State conventions, organizational meetings, and consults with Variety's clients on such technology and social media related matters as well as how to market and promote their events with and "outside of the box" approach.

At 21, Forrest had his first business license for "Forrest Fire Entertainment", a company name that would quickly come to be a successful force in the regional entertainment scene in Southwest Virginia area, and give him an iconic name to build his successful Disc Jockey brand at many of Virginia's Colleges and Universities. While preparing for his performances he studied the music charts regularly to try to get a feel for the new trends and styles that were coming down the line as far as new music goes. Through this process he has seemed to have developed an instinct for predicting hit songs.

"I'm lucky to have developed this skill, it's a great one to have in this business". "When we are booking shows 6-8 months away, it's nice to have an ear for the hit songs coming down the pipe, if we can see a hit song coming we can lock in that act for our clients and they end up with a successful show !"

He served on Radford University's activities board, helping decide entertainment and activities for the 10,000 students enrolled including concerts, motivational and educational speakers, etc. While at school, Forrest was very active in the Media Studies organization. He anchored the University's news channel "NRV NEWS" and hosted and executive produced "The Late Show with Forrest Surber" a late night talk and variety show where he interviews local celebrities and showcased the talents of different students. He has interned at CBS, NBC & FOX affiliate TV stations in Roanoke,VA in the News and Meteorology departments. He served as emcee and promotions specialist at Motor Mile Speedway in Pulaski County, and in college served as marketing and entertainment specialist at his hometown fair in Dublin,VA.

His introduction to Variety was at the age of 8 when he would watch his mother, provide backstage catering and hospitality to the artist at his hometown fair. As he started coming up through his teenage years he was used as a merchandise seller for various artist, and in high school, he was appointed stage manager. While in College he was asked to step up and be the fairs marketing representative and promotions director as well as being involved in the responsibilities typical of an assistant fair manager. In 2008 George Moffett and Todd Boltin invited him to become an intern at Variety Attractions. During this and the next 2 summers, he observed a number of different fairs and festivals, learned their inner workings, and trained on shows of all levels from tribute bands to large scale productions including Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, Lady Antebellum, Justin Bieber, Jason Aldean, etc.

In November of 2010 he was brought on board as a full time agent, talent buyer.

"I am very excited to be part of the family at Variety, and am anxious to help our clients achieve their entertainment goals successfully."

When he gets a break, from the traveling and shows, he enjoys spending time with his family and friends back in Virginia. He still DJ's events when it fits into his busy schedule.