Coachella, Stagecoach music festival executive Skip Paige announces sudden retirement

Skip Paige, who helped develop the Coachella, Stagecoach and Desert Trip music festivals into the biggest events of their kind over the past two decades has announced his retirement, effective Wednesday.

Paige, 51, said in a note to colleagues and friends Monday that he is retiring to devote more time with his family. He serves as the chief operating officer of Goldenvoice and as a board member of its partner company, AEG Presents (formerly AEG Live). He has negotiated many of the land deals that have helped the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, and the once-only Desert Trip become the highest-grossing music events in the world.

Coachella was recently named the Billboard Top Festival of the year. It grossed a record $114 million in 2017, marking the first time a reoccurring festival franchise has crossed the $100 million mark

Paige said in a statement he was “overcome with a combination of sadness and excitement.” He called Goldenvoice “a very tight-knit family for many years and I have been lucky enough to be a part of it for over 19 years.

“However, life is complex and things change,” he said. “In the past few years, I have struggled with several personal and family issues ranging from a divorce to personal health problems. I sometimes felt as though I probably needed to re-prioritize my life. Maybe put a little less into my work and a little more time into my family.”

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Paige became friends with Goldenvoice President and CEO Paul Tollett while both were students at Cal Poly Pomona. Paige joined Goldenvoice in 1998, a year before Tollett co-founded Coachella, and became COO in charge of day-to-day business operations.

Goldenvoice founded Stagecoach in 2007 and Paige grew into an important community leader, negotiating deals to buy land around the Empire Polo Club, including the Eldorado Polo Club, and meeting with government, business and chambers of commerce leaders to allow Tollett to focus on curating music and expanding his visions for the festivals. With Bill Fold, who handles concert operations, they were called The Big Three of Goldenvoice.

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Paige said his friendship with Tollett has grown through the years. They were recently seen sitting together behind home plate of Dodger Stadium at the World Series. He told The Desert Sun the highlight of his career was "getting to talk to Paul T. Every day. He's a genius. Totally inspiring."

“Paul T. has been my friend since the early 1990s and has grown to be my absolute best friend for the last 15 years,” Paige said in his statement. “During the last 15 years, we’ve probably talked on the phone at least one time every day (including the weekends).”

Goldenvoice declined to comment on Paige's retirement. Goldenvoice last week made national news for severing ties with the founder of the FYF Festival in Los Angeles, Sean Carlson, after several women accused him of sexual misconduct.

Paige said he was looking forward to still attending the music festivals in Indio, perhaps with family members.

"I’m now going to take some time off," he said. "My son and I are going to spend some time together in Mexico and my daughter and I are going to listen to some Tyler – trying to make up for all those years when I got home at 1 a.m."

Paige said he will retain his home in Indio and split his time between that and Los Angeles. He told The Desert Sun, “I’m the luckiest guy you’ll ever want to meet.”

Contact Bruce Fessier at bruce.fessier@desertsun.com or call or text him at (760) 200-6829. GOT TIPS? You can send him secure tips or materials on the smartphone app WhatsApp at (760) 200-6829