Indie Champs 2024: evenko, Greenhouse Talent & more

To celebrate the hard work of the numerous independent operators that make the live entertainment industry such a vibrant – and growing – business worldwide, IQ is publishing its inaugural Indie Champions list.

Our shortlist of 20 companies were chosen by the IQ readership and have headquarters across 11 different nations but service live events the world over, thanks to their various satellite offices and the artists and partners they work with.

The Indie Champions will become an annual staple of IQ, so if your company did not make it onto this year’s debut list, fear not, as you have a full ten months to prove your credentials to friends, colleagues, and business partners ahead of next year’s nomination process.

IQ will continue to publish entries across all categories over the coming days, and you can find the whole cohort in the latest edition of IQ here. Find part one, which includes Alter Art, Crosstown Concerts and more, here.

evenko (CA)

One of Canada’s largest independent promoters, evenko produces nearly 1,600 music, family, and sports events throughout Quebec, the Atlantic provinces, and the eastern United States on an annual basis. Its key events include hugely successful music festivals OSHEAGA Music and Arts Festival, FUEGO FUEGO, îLESONIQ, and LASSO Montréal, while throughout the year, the company regularly presents shows by Disney on Ice, Cirque du Soleil, and several Broadway shows.

In 2024, evenko’s four festivals attracted more than 270,000 music lovers of all genres – îLESONIQ (55,000), OSHEAGA (147,000), FUEGO FUEGO (35,000), and LASSO Montreal (35,000) – while the company also promoted shows by the likes of Madonna, Burna Boy, Olivia Rodrigo, Andrea Bocelli, Noah Kahan, Snoop Dogg, Missy Elliott, Charli XCX, Troye Sivan, Cyndi Lauper, Justin Timberlake, and Sabrina Carpenter. It will round off the year with performances by Bruce Springsteen, Iron Maiden, Cirque du Soleil, Sebastian Maniscalco, and Russell Peters.

Legendary acts such as Green Day, the Smashing Pumpkins, and Justice appeared as part of the lineup for OSHEAGA’s 17th edition

The company’s festival lineups in 2024 included acts like SZA, Chappell Roan, Maluma, Noah Kahan, Sam Hunt, Tiësto, Rauw Alejandro, and Eric Church, while legendary acts such as Green Day, the Smashing Pumpkins, and Justice appeared as part of the lineup for OSHEAGA’s 17th edition.

Jelly Roll and Bailey Zimmerman are set to headline the fourth edition of LASSO Montréal country music festival next August, and the company will promote shows by Kylie Minogue, Jerry Seinfeld & Jim Gaffigan, Heart, Kane Brown, and more at Montréal’s Bell Centre in the coming year.

Fource (CZ)

Anthony Jouet founded Fource in 2011, after finding himself working in Prague as a consultant in-house promoter at the city’s O2 Arena. “I felt there was a gap in the market, but I was frustrated to be tied to arena shows, so I told my boss, Jacob Smid, and between us we set up Fource to specialise in artist development,” he explains.

The idea was a success and, in 2017, Fource opened a second office in Warsaw, Poland.

“Our business model is based on artist development. So usually, we begin at club level with the artists that we decide to work with. And then we develop them in the market and work with all the possible venues in town up to arena level. 95% of what we do is promote shows.”

“It was very important that we are accountable for everything that we do”

Jouet’s approach to artist development is taking everything in-house. “We have our own ticketing [team], we do our own production, and we have our own marketing team, rather than doing what other players do here, which is relying on venues to promote their shows. For me, it was very important that we are accountable for everything that we do.”

Now employing eight people in Prague and five in Warsaw, the organic growth of Fource sees the company now promoting around 100 shows a year in Czechia and 80 in Poland.

Gérard Drouot Productions (FR)

Founded by Gérard Drouot in 1986, Gérard Drouot Productions (GDP) has become a pillar of concert production in the French music industry, while its name is recognised, appreciated, and trusted by artists and their fans all over the world. Now run by the late founder’s son, Matthieu, the company remains fiercely independent through its continual desire to renew itself and to approach each tour and event as a unique project, requiring creative marketing and promotional strategies.

As a lover of jazz, Gérard Drouot quickly added rock and pop, and more recently, rap, to the company’s portfolio, while film concerts have also become a speciality.

Despite the death of Gérard in 2022, GDP has a bright future ahead of it

GDP’s reputation revolves around relationships built on trust, offering artists opportunities to go beyond the norm to produce memorable performances, be they in a 400-seat venue or at the massive Stade de France. Despite the death of Gérard in 2022, GDP has a bright future ahead of it, with Matthieu Drouot overseeing 600 shows per year, including a raft of upcoming shows whose eclectic range is emphasised by the likes of Fally Ipupa, Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls, Shaârghot, The World of Hans Zimmer, Cradle of Filth, and Laura Pausini.

Greenhouse Talent (BE)

Founded by Pascal Van De Velde in 2005, Greenhouse Talent has become the largest indie concert promoter in Benelux, with 50 employees across Belgium and The Netherlands organising around 1,500 events annually for 1.5m fans. Van De Velde’s promoting career began when he was a teenager, and his pathway to launching Greenhouse saw him working for Belgian independent Make It Happen before that became part of the SFX/Clear Channel/Live Nation stable in 2001, where he worked as a consultant before creating his own operation.

“We promote international and domestic shows, we are a booking agency, and we organise festivals, comedy, and family shows,” says Van De Velde. “We do it all: production, marketing, admin, legal, and ticketing; and our mission is to remain talent-driven and participate in the growth process of our artists, based on a personal approach tailored to the artist’s career demands.”

“We do it all”

Among the company’s cornerstone events are Gent Jazz (57,000 attendees in 2024) and Netherlands events such as Zuiderpark Live (25,000), Spoorpark Live (22,500), and Country to
Country festival (10,000).

Looking ahead, Greenhouse has sold more than 200,000 tickets for a series of 40th anniversary shows for Clouseau at the Sportpaleis in Antwerp, and two sold-out shows with Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds at the same venue. And in the Netherlands, the company will host UB40 at Ziggo Dome, Fally Ipupa at RTM Stage, NCT Dream at Rotterdam Ahoy, Max Richter at Carré, and Kaleo at AFAS Live before the end of this year.

Karsten Jahnke Konzertdirektion (DE)

The company was officially founded in 1962 by Karsten Jahnke, who finally turned his hobby of promoting concerts into a business. These days, it offers touring services in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, as well as local shows in Hamburg, including, for the past 49 years, Stadtpark Open Air from mid-May to mid-September.

The company is involved in festivals like Reeperbahn, MS Dockville, Spektrum, Habitat, Vogelball, Elbjazz, Überjazz, and Baltic Soul Weekender. Touring clients include The Cure, Beck, Childish Gambino, BLACKPINK, ATEEZ, Branford Marsalis, Cypress Hill, Diana Krall, Gianna Nannini, Gregory Porter, Erasure, Herbie Hancock, Ludovico Einaudi, Nils Landgren, Portishead, Royel Otis, Taylor Swift, Thundercat, Tower of Power, Sasha Velour, Walk off the Earth, Trixie & Katya, Van Morrison, and Wu-Tang Clan.

It offers touring services in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland

With a staff of 50 employees, this year, the company promoted two shows with Taylor Swift at Hamburg’s Volksparkstadion; tours with Joss Stone, Diana Krall, Sean Paul, Cypress Hill, Birdy, Garbage, Kaleo, Childish Gambino, Gianna Nannini, Gregory Porter, and Tower of Power, amongst many others; around 1,200 shows in the GAS region; and 350-400 shows in Hamburg each year.

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