By Stephen Baldwin
RealWV
www.therealwv.com
“This business isn’t for the weak of heart,” says Todd Boltin, owner of Variety Attractions. “It’s not like going through the drive-through and saying I want ‘Alan Jackson’ to play my fair and you get Alan Jackson. There’s a lot more to it.”
Variety Attractions began a relationship booking entertainment for the State Fair of West Virginia in 1970. At that time, George Moffett ran the company. He became a world-renowned talent booker, winning the Academy of Country Music’s Booker of the Year twice. During his tenure, Variety brought acts such as Roy Rogers, Alabama, George Jones, the Statler Brothers, and Garth Brooks to the State Fair of West Virginia before they hit the big-time.
In 1982, Todd Boltin began working for Moffett in the entertainment industry. The pair worked together up until 2016 when Moffett retired and Boltin bought the business.
“Variety has been booking the entertainment for the State Fair of West Virginia for 55 years now,” Boltin reflects. “We do about 300 fairs and festivals a year in 23 states east of the Mississippi.”
Boltin says the business is all about supply and demand. “There’s three to four times as many venues as there is talent to play,” he shares. “And everybody wants their venue filled in the summertime, so it’s hard to schedule sometimes.”
Boltin says he is very pleased with the acts they were able to book for the 100th State Fair of West Virginia this year. “If you look at the caliber of artists–Miranda Lambert, Zach Top, and T-Pain, for example, it’s a great lineup. And I’ve got to give Kelly (Collins, CEO of the SFWV) credit; she always likes to keep ticket prices reasonable and bring diverse acts. We’ve done that this year.”
With a long history of rising stars playing the State Fair over the years, Boltin says Zach Top is the one to watch this year. “He’s a brand new artist and sold out immediately,” Boltin notes. “He’s primed to be a star.”
Zach Top is a singer-songwriter who grew up on a family farm in Washington. He plays traditional country music with bluegrass elements. He’s set to release a second album later this month.
American Songwriter says he’s “next up” to lead country music, while Billboard says he’s “country’s future.”
Boltin says it reminds him of 2023, when the State Fair just happened to be lucky enough to book Zach Bryan, Lainey Wilson, and Hardy right before they blew up the charts and became stars.
“They are seven-figure acts now,” Boltin says. “Again, I give Kelly credit. She’s been able to keep ticket prices affordable and bring in these rising stars.”
Of course, Variety Attractions has been part of that work as well. “Alabama’s first radio hit came in 1980. Our company booked them for 60 shows that summer before they hit it big.”
Their first hit was “Tennessee River,” which was released in May 1980. It marked the first of 21 straight #1 hits and came right before their first visit to the fair. “They’ve been back many times since then,” Bolton notes. “Same with the Statler Brothers.”
What does Boltin say is the secret to booking acts for fairs and festivals? “Oh, that’s easy. Relationships,” he says. “We’ve got good relationships with the fairs and with the talent.”
He goes back to Alabama as an example. “We had a great relationship with Alabama’s manager,” he explains. “Then several years later, he came to us and said he had a young man name Kenny Chesney. We booked Kenny for eight years solid before he actually hitched a ride into the stratosphere, you know started playing stadiums in the big show.”
“A few years later, he came to us and said he had two acts called Big & Rich and Gretchen Wilson. Of course they exploded. Then a few years later he told us about a young man named Jake Owen. Again, it’s about the relationship, because the manager knows we’re gonna have good events to play there, and it’s not gonna be a nightmare for the band or the crew.”
Boltin says those relationships help to overcome issues like capacity and geography, which can limit who is booked to come to Fairlea, WV. “Those relationships are a plus, for sure. Because if we had twice the capacity, we could book bigger acts and not charge double the price, you know.”
Boltin says Variety’s relationship with the State Fair of West Virginia has been strong for decades, during the leadership of Ed Rock, Marlene Joliffe, and now Kelly Collins. “It’s been a really good relationship.”
The 100th State Fair of West Virginia runs from August 7-16. Grandstand shows include Zach Top, Jeff Dunham, T-Pain, Miranda Lambert, Lauren Daigle, and Kansas & 38 Special. Free entertainment options include Sea Lion Splash, Swifty Swine, The Moogician, Hypnotist Catherine Hickland, and a Draft Horse Pull.
This story is part of a series detailing the 100th State Fair of West Virginia funded in part by the Peyton Foundation.
