Paul Tollett

Van Santen died in 2004. 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."

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.

The second Coachella took place as a one-day festival in 2001, and was later expanded to six days over two consecutive weekends. The 2018 festival drew an audience of approximately 250,000 people. The 2019 festival sold out in six hours.

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.

In 1996, Paul and Perry Tollett co-founded the Glass House, a live music venue in Pomona. 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.

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. Tollett said in 2011 that Tovar taught him "everything".

Tollett met Gary Tovar, Goldenvoice's owner, at a Bad Manners concert in Long Beach in 1986. 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.