Goldenvoice organized the first Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in 1999.
The inaugural Coachella was held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, on October 9 and 10, 1999. Goldenvoice, a California concert-promotion company, created the event after developing the polo grounds as a large-scale concert venue. The first edition featured artists including Beck, Tool, Morrissey, Rage Against the Machine, and Chemical Brothers.
Coachella initially struggled financially and was not held in 2000. It returned in 2001 as a one-day event before expanding again in later years. Its growth helped turn the Empire Polo Club into one of the world’s best-known festival sites.
A common mix-up is to identify the festival with its later corporate owner rather than its original promoter. Goldenvoice is the company most directly associated with launching Coachella; it later became part of AEG Presents.