Entourage Talent Associates’ owner and entrepreneur Wayne Forte is a seasoned, celebrated and experienced veteran of the music industry. Born and raised in New York, Forte first began booking student concerts while at North Carolina State University. He achieved several successful milestones at powerhouse talent agencies Creative Management Associates (CMA), International Creative Management (ICM) and the William Morris Agency (WMA) by booking and developing artists worldwide, starting with small clubs and quickly growing them to sold out arenas and stadiums. During that time, Forte represented such superstars as The Clash, Hall and Oates, Joe Jackson, Return to Forever and Tom Petty, among others, in addition to developing a global relationship with David Bowie spanning nearly two decades.
At age 30, Forte and the late Michael Farrell established their own agency, International Talent Group (ITG), representing some of the hottest talent in the industry including Duran Duran, The Cure, Depeche Mode, Genesis, Phil Collins, Pink Floyd, King Crimson, The Tragically Hip, Steve Miller Band, Julian Lennon, Radiohead, Billy Idol and many, many more. They brought many of these artists to North America for the very first time, and later booked and co-produced Bowie’s renowned Serious Moonlight and Glass Spider tours as well as Duran Duran’s World (stadium and arena) Tour.
In 1993, Forte founded Entourage Talent Associates, Ltd., a personalized agency and consulting firm, where he has continued to oversee and help to maintain the careers of established artists such as: Steve Hackett, Joan Armatrading, Procol Harum, Renaissance, Joe Satriani as well as being instrumental in developing the career of renowned and longtime client, guitarist and Grammy Award winner, Derek Trucks. For the last 10 years has developed the Tedeschi Trucks Band (featuring Derek Trucks and his wife, guitarist and powerhouse vocalist, Susan Tedeschi) into a multi-day sellout live attraction.
Through all the years and successes, Forte’s philosophy has never changed — to look for talent with their own identity, boundless potential; artists who set trends, not follow them.
