LOS ANGELES — For three weeks in April, the Coachella Valley is the center of the world for live music. Its flagship event, Goldenvoice's Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, along with its country music cousin, Stagecoach, draw hundreds of thousands of fans to see an expertly curated assortment of A-list and up-and-coming artists, transforming the region into a nightlife Bacchanalia with hotels, Airbnbs and restaurants booked solid.
Can it stay that way the other 49 weeks of the year? Irving Azoff and Tim Leiweke, the live entertainment mega-moguls behind the development firm Oak View Group, are convinced it can.
Azoff and Leiweke have run Live Nation and AEG, respectively, the two largest concert promoters in America. Leiweke has been chairman of Major League Soccer and overseen sports franchises including the Los Angeles Kings; Azoff, a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, has managed artists including the Eagles and Steely Dan, served as chief executive of Ticketmaster and overseen the refurbishing of the Forum in Inglewood (Azoff goes small, too: he and his wife, Shelli, own local dining landmarks Nate'n Al's and the Apple Pan).
