La Mar C. Taylor
The Weeknd’s Performance Impresario
La Mar C. Taylor may not be quite as well-known as his high school best friend, The Weeknd, but the Canadian artist, creative director and entrepreneur doesn’t mind — especially since he’s behind some of the singer’s most memorable performances. In fact, La Mar’s fresh off his latest gig executive producing this past winter’s concert film special The Weeknd: Live at SoFi Stadium. Two years earlier, La Mar’s hand in The Weeknd’s Super Bowl LV halftime extravaganza helped make the show among the most iconic stage performances in NFL history (and during the pandemic to boot). He may have gotten his start with The Weeknd, but La Mar isn’t a one-artist wonder. He splits his time between two endeavors he co-founded with Ahmed Ismali — XO Records and Toronto-based HXOUSE, an incubator for creative entrepreneurs — and has also worked with Drake, Belly and NAV.
Projects
La Mar C. Taylor likens his job to a Rubik’s Cube: “It’s just trying to figure out the problem and trying to crack the code.” And he successfully solved the most intricate and challenging puzzle of his career with resounding success when he helped create a 14-minute show featuring The Weeknd in 2021 on arguably the world’s biggest stage, the Super Bowl. La Mar also played a major role in creating the concert film The Weeknd: Live at SoFi Stadium, which debuted on HBO in February 2023. Lights! Lasers! Fire! The concert is a dynamic whirlwind of theater, performance art and music set against a stunning backdrop, which at one point includes a massive crater-covered moon that changes from red to blue to white as it floats over the stage and lights up the stadium.
