Mac DeMarco in San Antonio

About Mac DeMarco

Mac DeMarco made his name with 2012's 2, a lo-fi indie rock album recorded in his apartment that somehow sounded both deliberately unpolished and genuinely meticulous. Since then he's been the guy who makes woozy, psychedelic-tinged pop songs that feel loose but are actually pretty carefully constructed. Chamber of Reflection became his calling card — all tremolo guitar and sarcastic vocal melodies. He's released five albums so far, each one a bit more produced than the last, but he's never lost that slightly detached quality, like he's amused by how seriously people take his music. He does a lot of stuff beyond music too, makes weird videos, collaborates with random artists, seems genuinely uninterested in playing the industry game. The live show is where you realize he's actually pretty invested though.

Shows get rowdy in a specific way. Lots of people singing every word back at him, which he doesn't really seem to mind. He plays it cool but tight, lets songs breathe, occasionally tugs at his shirt or messes with effects. Crowd's here to celebrate, not worship. Surprisingly genuine moment-to-moment.

Known for Chamber of Reflection, Passing Out Pieces, Still Together, My KIND Of Woman, Rock and Roll Night Club

Mac DeMarco + San Antonio

Mac DeMarco rolled through San Antonio on November 30, 2018 at H-E-B Performance Hall, running through a lean twelve-song set that felt more like a highlight reel than a full night out. He opened with "Salad Days," the dreamy centerpiece of his breakthrough album, then spent the evening drifting between his catalog's softer corners and weirder moments. "Ode to Viceroy" landed somewhere in the middle—that lo-fi closer that sounds like it's playing through a busted speaker in an empty apartment. The setlist skipped the obvious radio moves in favor of deeper cuts like "One Another" and "Dreams From Yesterday," the kind of songs that hit different when you're standing in a room full of people who actually know them. He closed with "Watching Him Fade Away," a fitting final note for a show that felt intimate despite the venue size.

Mac DeMarco in San Antonio News

• Mac DeMarco Is Starting His Own Record Label and Plotting His First-Ever Solo Tour Paste Magazine · Mar 23, 2023
• Mac DeMarco has started his own record label • News DIY Magazine · Aug 9, 2018
• Mac DeMarco Announces New Record Label and Solo Tour spin.com · Aug 8, 2018
• Mac DeMarco Starts Record Label & Announces First Solo Tour Billboard · Aug 8, 2018
• Mac DeMarco Announces First Solo Tour, Starting in Phoenix Phoenix New Times · Aug 8, 2018

Live Music in San Antonio

San Antonio's live music scene skews toward country, Tex-Mex, and Latin influences—it's not exactly fertile ground for the bedroom-pop contingent. But the city's eclecticism and young audience have carved out pockets for indie acts and singer-songwriters who prefer introspection to bombast. Mac DeMarco's soft, melancholic aesthetic found its people here, even if they're scattered across a sprawling city more used to heritage touring acts than vanguard indie musicians.

San Antonio road trip to see Mac DeMarco?

Stay in Southtown, where the gallery scene and restored Victorian homes give you something real to walk through between dinner reservations at Cured, which does thoughtful Italian-influenced cooking without pretension. Catch the show, then spend the next morning at Pearl Brewery itself—the district's worth an hour of wandering. The Majestic Theatre or the Tobin Center are your likely venues depending on the tour routing. Head to the McNay Art Museum if you've got afternoon time; it's one of the better regional collections in Texas and won't feel like you're wasting daylight.