From York U to Coachella — An insider’s view to the music business

Elliott Lefko (BA ’82) was born in Toronto and attended York U for 5 long years watching films, writing articles for the Excalibur and somehow managing to get a diploma which he gave to his mother. He always dreamed of being a concert promoter and soon started booking rock bands like Nirvana and The Red Hot Chili Peppers when they did their first shows in Toronto. He later promoted early shows for Daft Punk, The Beastie Boys, Lady Gaga, Kanye West, Leonard Cohen, Kendrick Lamar, Bob Dylan and Radiohead. In 2004 he moved to Los Angeles to work for Goldenvoice who book the Coachella Music Festival. He currently promotes concert tours for such acts as Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds, Father John Misty, Sigur Ros and MGMT.