Festival Parties Are Under Way
The Desert Sun
April 29, 2006
By Maggie Downs
Billionaire Blixseth hosts Warner Bros. entertainers

As scores of musicians flooded into the desert for the annual Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, the parties began. And quietly, the stars turned up. Rancho Mirage billionaire Tim Blixseth hosted a meeting of A&R people from Warner Bros. Records International at his Porcupine Creek estate.

In the "The Party Pad," after a golf tournament, the group of about 50 reps from around the world had dinner, with entertainment by legendary producer and songwriter David Foster, Josh Groban, Eric Benét and Peter Cincotti. Foster has worked with some of the music industry's brightest stars including Barbra Streisand, Groban, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Madonna, *NSync, The Corrs and Natalie Cole. Foster appeared as a star singer to help the contestants on "American Idol." Cincotti, the strongly reviewed young jazz pianist and singer, was recently signed to the label. R&B artist Benét is one of the artists who, along with Wynonna Judd and Michael McDonald, recorded "The Heart of America," a Hurricane Katrina fundraiser tune by Blixseth. Guests from Warner Bros. Mexico, Warner Bros. Australia, and Warner Bros. France were among those at the party.

"Even though 90 percent of you aren't from America, I guess welcome to America," said Groban as he launched into a performance of Paul Simon's "America" under a starry sky. Most attendees said they were looking forward to seeing the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. "Seeing these performers live is a dream come true," Groban said. Depeche Mode, one of the headlining acts at the festival, is a Warner Bros. recording artist.

Local guests at the party included Rep. Mary Bono, R-Palm Springs, who has been a strong supporter of intellectual property and copyright issues in connection with the music and film industry. Blixseth, himself a musician before he became a megadeveloper and timber magnate, operates his own record company, Friday Records, which is distributed by Warner Bros. "A night like tonight, for me, Tim Blixseth, a struggling songwriter from somewhere, nowhere, to have all this amazing music in this beautiful canyon is the highest honor I could ever have," he said.


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