Grass doesn’t grow at the Empire Polo Field. Not without the help of human hands, anyway. Yet on top of this man made lawn has sprung one of the finest music festivals in the world. What started as an ambitious, Southern California science experiment in the middle of nowhere has ballooned to a modern-day music pilgrimage whose outreach extends to all 50 states and beyond. But things weren’t always this good. There was a time when the festival teetered on the brink of extinction. Now that Coachella is in its eighth year—and increased to three days for the first time—we thought it was time for those who lived through it all to tell the story behind this generation’s greatest music festival.

Paul Tollett
* President, Goldenvoice / Southern California Concert Promoter and Coachella co-founder
It was good for Goldenvoice when the Lollapalooza …