Jacob Smid, managing director of MRG Live, and Matthew Gibbons, founder/CEO of the broader MRG Group, have made moves to ensure MRG’s position as a big player in a concert industry that is dominated by powerful corporate behemoths. As one of Canada’s largest independent live music promoters and venue operators, MRG operates some historic music halls, like Toronto’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre and Vancouver’s Vogue Theatre. The company has expanded through a post-pandemic revamp that started in Canada and has moved into global markets like Australia. Last year, MRG stepped in to elevate fledgling homegrown institutions like the Lakeshore Music & Arts Festival, the new festival that will launch in Burlington, Ontario, following the financial peril of the long-running Sound of Music Festival. With a focus on “experiences over things,” MRG has become a diverse ecosystem of live music, including media outlet BeatRoute and ticketing company AdmitONE – along with travel and hospitality wings. And last year, MRG acquired RAPSEASON, a major platform for live hip hop, from INK Entertainment, while also hiring its leader, Samantha O’Connor, as a senior talent buyer.