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Paul Tollett is an American music promoter. He is the president and CEO of Goldenvoice, a Los Angeles-based concert production company, and the co-founder of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.[1]
Paul Tollett | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1965 (age 58–59) |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Cal Poly Pomona |
| Occupation | Promoter |
| Years active | 1986 – Present |
| Employer | Goldenvoice |
| Title | CEO and president |
Tollett was born in Ohio and grew up in Pomona, California. He and his brother, Perry, regularly attended punk and hardcore shows promoted by Goldenvoice.[2] The Tolletts promoted their first show while in high school.[3]
Tollett met Gary Tovar, Goldenvoice's owner, at a Bad Manners concert in Long Beach in 1986.[4] He worked part time for Goldenvoice while a chemistry student at CalPoly Pomona, dropping out in his senior year to become a full time employee.[5]
In 1991, he and Rick Van Santen, a longtime associate of Tovar's, bought Goldenvoice. Their first shows featured artists including Black Flag, Jane’s Addiction, and N.W.A.[6][7] Tollett said in 2011 that Tovar taught him "everything".[2]
In 1996, Paul and Perry Tollett converted a Thrifty drug store in Pomona into a 600-capacity live music venue, the Glass House. [8] No Doubt was the first band that played the Glass House, which became known for its all-ages rock and punk shows. In 2007, with partners Ed and Jerry Tessier, the Tolletts purchased and renovated the historic Pomona Fox Theater.[9]
In 1997, Tollett and Van Santen developed the concept for the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, which was held for the first time in 1999. It lost approximately $750,000. Although Goldenvoice survived the loss, based in part on Tollett's history of "fair dealing with bands and venders", it was a struggle; Tollett sold his house and his car.[4]
Goldenvoice was acquired by AEG in March 2001; by then it was one of the most prominent promoters of rock and punk shows in the United States.[10]
The second Coachella took place as a one-day festival in 2001. In 2012 it was expanded to six days over two consecutive weekends. [11] The 2018 festival drew an audience of approximately 250,000 people. The 2019 festival sold out in six hours.[12][13][14]
Van Santen died in 2004.[7] Tollett and Van Santen were "inseparable" from 1988 to the time of Van Santen's death. In a 2011 interview, he said: "We couldn't have done it without each other."[2]
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