Mac DeMarco

Early life and musical beginnings

McBriare Samuel Lanyon DeMarco was born on April 30, 1990, in Duncan, British Columbia, and was raised in Edmonton, Alberta. His mother, Agnes DeMarco, changed his name from his birth name, Vernor Winfield McBriare Smith IV, after his father left the family when DeMarco was four years old and refused to pay child support. He is a descendant of Vernor Smith, a former Alberta Minister of Railways and Telephones, and his grandfather was a judge on the Court of King's Bench of Alberta. DeMarco began playing guitar as a teenager, taking lessons from his grandmother while attending McKernan School and later Strathcona High School in Edmonton. During his high school years, he played in several local bands including the indie rock group the Meat Cleavers, the alternative R&B group the Sound of Love, and the post-punk band Outdoor Miners, which he formed with future keyboardist Alec Meen and which was named after a song by the English rock band Wire. After graduating in 2008, DeMarco worked as a backing musician before moving to Vancouver to pursue music more seriously, and he started smoking cigarettes as a teenager, a habit that became part of his early image before he quit in January 2023.

Career development and breakthrough

In Vancouver, DeMarco began releasing music under the pseudonym Makeout Videotape, self-producing the album Heat Wave in 2009 which sold out its 500-unit run. He was joined by Alex Calder and Jen Clement, signed to Unfamiliar Records, and toured with the Vancouver band Japandroids in 2009 while also working on "psychedelic" video projects during this period. He moved to Montreal in 2011 to begin recording as a solo artist, where he struggled to find work as a musician, taking jobs on a road paving crew and participating in medical experiments for income. His career shifted significantly on January 9, 2012, when the record label Captured Tracks announced his signing. His debut release under his own name was the mini-album Rock and Roll Night Club in early 2012, a lo-fi project featuring slowed-down vocals and skits that was first released on a limited 100-unit cassette run by Green Burrito Records before Captured Tracks issued it on vinyl. His first full-length album, 2, followed later that year and was met with critical acclaim, including a "Best New Music" designation from Pitchfork, which established DeMarco's signature sound and set the stage for his subsequent rise in the indie music world.

Major album releases and critical success

DeMarco's second studio album, Salad Days, was announced on January 21, 2014, with the lead single "Passing Out Pieces" and was released on April 1, 2014, earning another "Best New Music" designation from Pitchfork and a shortlist nomination for the Polaris Music Prize. He followed this with the mini-album Another One in August 2015, a collection of love songs that received generally favourable reviews and a score of 75 out of 100 on Metacritic, with the website Still in Rock ranking it as the third best album of 2015. On July 8, 2015, he also released the nine-track instrumental album Some Other Ones, which he described as a "BBQ soundtrack" and was later re-released on streaming services in 2023. His third album, This Old Dog, was announced on January 31, 2017, alongside two singles, and arrived on May 5, 2017, representing a shift toward more introspective and folk-influenced songwriting. In 2019, he launched his own imprint, Mac's Record Label, and released Here Comes the Cowboy on May 10, 2019, which debuted at number 10 on the US Billboard 200, marking his first top-ten album in the United States, though it received mixed reviews from critics and audiences upon release.

Mac DeMarco is a Canadian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer. He has released six full-length studio albums. His debut album was 2, released in 2012. This was followed by Salad Days in 2014, This Old Dog in 2017, Here Comes the Cowboy in 2019, Five Easy Hot Dogs in 2023, and Guitar in 2025.

• 2 (2012)
• Salad Days (2014)
• This Old Dog (2017)
• Here Comes the Cowboy (2019)
• Five Easy Hot Dogs (2023)
• Guitar (2025)

DeMarco released the instrumental album Five Easy Hot Dogs on January 20, 2023. The fourteen-track album was recorded in different locations during a road trip from Los Angeles to Utah. On April 21, 2023, he released the compilation album One Wayne G online without any prior announcement. That album featured 199 tracks of instrumental and demo recordings made between 2018 and 2023 and received positive coverage for its experimental format. His sixth studio album, Guitar, was announced in June 2025 for an August 22, 2025 release, coinciding with the lead single "Home". The album was recorded in November 2024 in his Los Angeles home studio, with David Ives mastering.

Musical style, influences and production

Mac DeMarco's music is characterized by a distinctively relaxed and off-kilter aesthetic, often labelled as slacker rock, jangle pop, lo-fi, or "blue wave", a term used by some reviewers. His production style employs flat, dry drums with little reverberation or dynamic range compression, generous use of chorus and vibrato effects on the guitar, and muted, low-frequency bass lines, creating what he himself has termed "jizz jazz", a name he also gave to his apartment studio, Jizz Jazz Studios, as mentioned in the documentary Pepperoni Playboy. He cites a wide range of influences, from pop icons like Michael Jackson, Neil Young, Shuggie Otis, and Christopher Cross to rock acts such as Black Sabbath, Genesis, and Weezer, and more experimental figures like Japanese musician Haruomi Hosono, whom he has called his favourite artist, as well as Brian Eno, Daniel Lopatin, and R. Stevie Moore. These influences inform his reel-to-reel tape production methods, which contribute to the warm, intimate feel of his recordings, and he has also pointed to artists like John Maus, Ariel Pink, Isao Tomita, and Joe Meek as key influences on his production approach. Lyrically, his work has evolved from the glam-inspired themes of his early work to more personal, folk-oriented songwriting on albums like This Old Dog, and his guitar-based compositions have been described by reviewers as "off-kilter pop" or "folk rock".

Touring, live performances and viral success

DeMarco is known for his energetic and often whimsical live performances, which have garnered a dedicated fanbase globally. He made his first major talk show appearance performing "Let Her Go" on Conan on March 30, 2015, which was his second TV appearance after The Eric Andre Show, and he also appeared on FishCenter Live for an interview on April 8, 2018. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, he returned to touring in October 2021 with a significantly changed backing band, adding musicians like bassist Daryl Johns and drummer JD Beck after the departure of longtime members Joe McMurray, Andrew White, and Jon Lent, whose departure was confirmed by White shortly after Lent's arrest. His touring schedule is consistently extensive, and in 2018 he partnered with the non-profit Plus1, donating one dollar from each ticket to the Girls Rock Camp Alliance to empower girls, trans and gender-diverse young people through music education. In 2025, he announced a major tour spanning from August to December, followed by additional European dates in 2026, with the 2026 itinerary including a three-night residency at London's O2 Academy Brixton in June and continues across Europe into September, demonstrating his enduring draw as a live act.

Mac DeMarco announced a tour in April 2025 that was set to begin in August and end in December 2025. He later announced additional tour dates in Europe for 2026. His newly announced 2026 UK and European tour includes a three-night residency at London's O2 Academy Brixton. The tour follows the release of his 2025 album Guitar.

• October-December 2025: North American and European leg for Guitar album, including dates in Hamburg, Berlin, London, and across Canada from Halifax to Victoria.
• June 2026: Three nights at O2 Academy Brixton, London, following an appearance at Primavera Sound in Barcelona, with further European shows in Offenbach, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, and Milan.
• June-September 2026: European festival and headline dates, including Best Kept Secret in Hilvarenbeek, and shows in Bologna, Rome, and Antwerp.
• October 2026: Return North American shows in Los Angeles at the Fonda Theatre and in Brooklyn at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, as well as a performance at Stern Auditorium in New York.

Other projects, label and secret releases

Beyond his solo work, DeMarco launched his own independent record label, Mac's Record Label, in 2018. The label's first signing was artist Tex Crick, who released Live in... New York City in 2021, followed by Vicky Farewell's album Sweet Company in 2022, and these supporting artists have also opened for him on tour, as indicated by symbols on his 2026 tour schedule. DeMarco has also engaged in several collaborative and side projects, including contributing a cover of Metallica's "Enter Sandman" to the September 2021 charity tribute album The Metallica Blacklist and featuring on tracks by artists like Yellow Days on "The Curse" in September 2020 and French musician Myd on "Moving Men" in October 2020. In a unique promotional move during the European leg of his Guitar tour, he hid physical CD-R copies of unreleased "secret albums" for fans to find and share online, with the album Dog On The Rock uploaded by fans who found the hidden copies in Europe. These albums, including Dog On The Rock found in Europe and Seven Off The Two found in Canada and subsequently uploaded to Soundcloud, were later officially uploaded to streaming services on August 28, 2026, alongside similar releases Seaplane Dog and The View from Tian Tian. In 2024, he also recorded an album titled Hear The Music that was not announced or released to the public, continuing his pattern of prolific behind-the-scenes output.

Personal life and public image

DeMarco has lived in several cities throughout his career, starting in Montreal from 2011 to 2012, then moving to Brooklyn, New York, and later the Far Rockaway neighbourhood of Queens from 2013 to 2016 before settling in Los Angeles, where he regularly hosted jam sessions with musician friends such as Thundercat and the late Mac Miller. In 2025, he purchased a rambling, hundred-year-old farmhouse on Pender Island in British Columbia, marking a return to his home province. He has been in a long-term relationship with Kiera McNally since 2009, having met her as a teenager in Edmonton, Alberta. A notable aspect of his early public image was his habitual cigarette smoking, which he stated he quit in January 2023, moving away from a signature visual trait. He remains a devoted fan of his hometown NHL team, the Edmonton Oilers, a fandom reflected in the title and 199-song length of his 2023 compilation One Wayne G, named for Oilers legend Wayne Gretzky with the track count referencing Gretzky's jersey number 99. He also appeared as an animated version of himself in the music video for Myd's "Moving Men" in 2020 and in the video for Crowded House's "Whatever You Want" released on October 28, 2020, and he is of Italian descent through his family lineage.

Band members, collaborators and timeline

DeMarco's live band has seen numerous changes over the years, with keyboardist Alec Meen being a consistent presence since 2017, also playing guitar from 2021 to 2023, and contributing backing vocals and percussion. A major lineup shift occurred in 2021 following the pandemic hiatus, with the departure of longtime members Joe McMurray on drums and occasional backing vocals, Andrew White on guitar, keyboards, percussion and backing vocals, and Jon Lent on bass guitar and previously keyboards and percussion. Jon Lent was removed from the band immediately after DeMarco learned of his arrest and was later sentenced to two years in jail for sexual assault, with Andy White confirming his own departure shortly afterwards. The current touring band as of 2025 includes Alec Meen on keyboards, Pedro Martins on electric guitar and backing vocals who previously played bass guitar in 2023, Daryl Johns on bass guitar and backing vocals who also played drums in 2023, and Phillippe Melanson on drums and backing vocals. This evolution in personnel has coincided with subtle shifts in the live presentation of his music, though the core, laid-back aesthetic remains intact, and other former members include Peter Sagar on guitar and backing vocals from 2012 to 2014, Pierce McGarry on bass and backing vocals from 2012 to 2016, and Alex Calder on guitar and Ryan Boyce on drums who were part of the early 2012 lineup. Mac DeMarco's current backing band members include Alec Meen on keyboards, Pedro Martins on guitar, Daryl Johns on bass, and Phillippe Melanson on drums. Former members include Joe McMurray, Andy White, and Jon Lent. Jon Lent left the band after being sentenced to jail, and DeMarco immediately removed him after learning about his arrest.

Questions about Mac DeMarco

What happened to Mac DeMarco's old band members?

Following a hiatus in 2020 to 2021, DeMarco's live band underwent significant changes. Longtime members Joe McMurray (drums), Andrew White (guitar), and Jon Lent (bass) departed. Lent was removed after being arrested and sentenced for sexual assault. The current band features Alec Meen, Pedro Martins, Daryl Johns, and Phillippe Melanson.

What is Mac DeMarco's real name?

Mac DeMarco's birth name was Vernor Winfield McBriare Smith IV. His mother, Agnes DeMarco, legally changed his name to McBriare Samuel Lanyon DeMarco after his father left the family when he was four years old. He was originally named after his great grandfather, Vernor Smith, who was a former Minister of Railways and Telephones for Alberta. DeMarco is also of Italian descent through his family lineage.

What are Mac DeMarco's most popular albums?

Mac DeMarco's most popular and acclaimed albums include Salad Days from 2014, which received a Best New Music designation from Pitchfork and was shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize. His 2017 album This Old Dog also garnered significant critical praise. His 2019 album Here Comes the Cowboy marked his first top ten appearance on the US Billboard 200, debuting at number ten. The track Heart to Heart from that album became a viral hit on TikTok in 2023, leading to his first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Where is Mac DeMarco from in Canada?

Mac DeMarco was born in Duncan, British Columbia on Vancouver Island. However, he was primarily raised in Edmonton, Alberta, where he attended McKernan School and later Strathcona High School. He began playing guitar and formed his first bands, such as the Meat Cleavers, while living in Edmonton. DeMarco remains a fan of his hometown hockey team, the Edmonton Oilers, even naming his 2023 compilation album One Wayne G after Oilers legend Wayne Gretzky.

What is Mac DeMarco's record label?

In 2018, Mac DeMarco established his own independent record label called Mac's Record Label. This label has released several of his own subsequent albums, including Here Comes the Cowboy in 2019 and Guitar in 2025. The first artist signed to the label was Tex Crick in 2021 with his album Live in... New York City. This was followed by the signing of Vicky Farewell, who released her album Sweet Company on the label in 2022.

Sources and further reading

• Mac DeMarco (Wikipedia)
• Mac DeMarco announces 2026 UK and European tour (diymag.com)

Checked by the Yadude Books desk. Last updated 2026-10-28.