Career[edit]

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]