Mac DeMarco.
credit: Mac DeMarco
“I love you Mac!” was a common refrain shouted by the audience members throughout Mac DeMarco’s show at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall this past Monday. And it’s easy to understand why, because the Canadian artist is one today’s most popular indie music artists. His upcoming dates for his current tour of North America and Europe are sold out; his music draws 20 million monthly Spotify listeners; and he was the subject of a recent lengthy profile in The New Yorker by Amanda Petrusich titled “Is Mac DeMarco the Last Indie Rock Star?”
Since bursting onto the scene with his 2012 debut album 2, the 35-year-old DeMarco has released several critically acclaimed albums of melodic slacker rock — highlighted by his dreamy singing, shimmering guitar and introspective lyrics (Think of his sound as indie’s answer to ‘70s-’80s yacht rock). It’s the perfect music that you could put on and chill out to on a late evening while home alone.
His new album, Guitar, released on his own label, continues that vibe. According to the record’s press notes, DeMarco wrote, recorded and produced Guitar in November of last year at his Los Angeles home and played all the instruments; he also did the album artwork and shot the music videos by himself, too. “I think Guitar is as close to a true representation of where I’m at in my life today as I can manage to put to paper,” he said in a statement.
Mac DeMarco at Radio City Music Hall on Sept. 8, 2025.
credit: David Chiu
Naturally, a majority of Guitar’s songs occupied Monday’s setlist, including “Shining,” “Phantom,” “Holy” and “Home.” These new reflective mid-tempo songs nestled nicely alongside the older popular songs that the fans were equally excited to hear, such as “For the First Time,” “Ode to Viceroy,” “Heart to Heart,” “Freaking Out the Neighborhood” and “My Kind of Woman.”
On stage, DeMarco projected a charismatic, likable and humorous persona that went beyond his simple attire of a baseball cap and a T-shirt. He mostly roamed around holding a microphone as his excellent touring band played around him, although he did put on a guitar for a few numbers. DeMarco was also entetaining with his amusing banter in between songs while encouraging his New York fans to clap and wave their arms.
Monday’s performance for DeMarco was the second of two sold-out dates at Radio City, and it was clear from this particular show that he definitely had his fans eating at the palm of his hand.
Mac DeMarco’s tour in the U.S. continues through Sept. 29, and then resumes in Europe beginning Oct. 21.
Setlist:
Shining
For the First Time
Sweeter
On the Level
Phantom
Salad Days
20191009 I Like Her
Rock and Roll
Still Beating
Passing Out Pieces
Home
Heart to Heart
Knockin’
Ode to Viceroy
Another One
Rooster
Freaking Out the Neighborhood
Holy
Moonlight on the River
My Kind of Woman
Chamber of Reflection
Encore:
Nobody
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidchiu/2025/09/10/mac-demarcos-slacker-rock-dazzles-radio-city-music-hall-crowd/
