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PAUL TOLLETT, 52
President, Goldenvoice
MELISSA ORMOND
COO of festivals, AEG Presents
Last Year’s Rank: 40
CAN’T TOUCH THIS FESTIVAL: Coachella earned over $114.6 million in 2017 with more than four times the gross of its nearest competitor.
DYNAMIC DUO: In October, Ormond reunited with AEG Presents chairman/CEO Jay Marciano for their third venture (after Madison Square Garden Entertainment and MCA Concerts). In her new role, she’s “assessing strategic and operational advantages and best practices.” Tollett continues his leading role as AEG’s artist-curation savant. In 2017, his team launched Arroyo Seco Weekend in Pasadena, Calif., expanding the company’s festival portfolio to over 40 events.
MEMORABLE CONCERT: (Ormond) “The Replacements at the Lawrence Opera House in Lawrence, Kan., in 1984. The show sold about 50 tickets in a 1,000-capacity room. They were drunk and irreverent, but their passion for the music rose above it all. The crowd began throwing beer bottles; the band threw them right back.”
