A Night Worth the Wait: Mac Demarco brings Calgary Together for an Unforgettable Night AT MAC HALL
Photo credit: Shannon Johnston (@me_onlylouder)
Mac DeMarco set the stage for a home province performance that had people waiting in line at Mac Hall since noon that day. Walking into the building an hour before the show to see hundreds of young fans lined up just to see Mac was really special. Huge shows seem rare to Calgary, so the moment people find out someone like Mac is coming, they decide that, yes, it is 100% worth waiting in line for eight hours. The energy of everyone in the venue was high and uplifting, making the whole experience feel welcoming.
Mac’s opener, Vicky Farewell, a singer and songwriter from L.A., got the crowd ready with her unique indie‐pop sound that grabbed everyone’s attention. She writes, produces, and makes all her own music, with dreamy vibes that stick in your head. Before setting out on a solo career, she worked with big artists like Anderson Paak. On stage, she connected with the crowd in a way that made you feel like she was singing just for you. Not many people knew her before the show, but it was guaranteed she left with new fans.
Photo credit: Shannon Johnston (@me_onlylouder)
Mac DeMarco, originally from Edmonton, Alberta, entered the music scene in the early 2010s with a raw, unpolished, and deeply personal sound that helped reshape indie rock in his own way. That led many listeners to associate Mac with the slacker rock movement, where his laid back music and honest songwriting stood out. When I first heard Mac DeMarco, it was during the peak of the pandemic. I came across the song “Moonlight on the River,” and that song soon took me down the rabbit hole of This Old Dog, 2, and Salad Days. These albums soon became constant companions throughout lockdown.
His music offered a sense of comfort when the world felt uncertain, with songs and lyrics providing something more during such a lonely period. Listening to his music felt less like escaping reality and more like learning how to sit with it, at a time when people found themselves most lost. Music can change our attitude, and Mac’s music changed mine into something calmer during a stressful time, growing with me over the years and meaning just as much now as it did when I first discovered it.
Photo credit: Shannon Johnston (@me_onlylouder)
Seeing the impact of Mac’s music in the form of a live show felt like a full-circle moment. Watching the emotion on the faces of the crowd, each person sharing the same experience in entirely different ways, was genuinely moving and honestly beautiful. It makes you appreciate the music more, seeing not only the live production, but what it creates within other people.
Opening his 90-minute set with “Shining,” a song off his newest album Guitar, set the whole room up for the whirlwind of the night ahead. Mac’s personality makes you feel like you almost know him personally, which made the show feel more intimate. The crowd was free to laugh, cry, sing, and react however they felt. It wasn’t just a performance, but a journey, one that offered a glimpse into Mac’s inner world and highlighted how deeply music can reflect and connect people.
Each song brought new life to the crowd, pulling longtime fans back into familiar memories while introducing others to something entirely new. The shared excitement was contagious. Eyes stayed locked on the stage as Mac held complete control with his in-between-song-banter, moving the audience from emotional moments to laughter, especially the moments he showed his goofy side — impersonating the average Albertan, or sharing his love of Calgary: “my Albertan pain is in Edmonton, my Albertan joy is in Calgary.” He showed true appreciation for everyone who made the effort to show up, even considering the weather which would never truly stop a diehard fan.
Photo credit: Shannon Johnston (@me_onlylouder)
As the set neared its end, “My Kind of Woman” became a standout moment. The way Mac delivered each lyric, and the way every person in the crowd seemed to take something different from it, was what truly sold the show. After closing with “Chamber of Reflection,” the crowd refused to let the night end, chanting for more until Mac returned. The encore began in true Canadian fashion with “O Canada,” turning the venue into a unified choir, before ending the night with “Nobody,” a beautifully fitting closer from his 2019 album Here Comes the Cowboy.
There is no wonder why Mac’s library has over one billion streams online. By the time the lights came on and everyone started heading back out into the cold, it was obvious the night was about way more than just hearing the songs live. Mac’s music has this ability to bring people together and make a room full of strangers feel connected, and you could feel that the entire night. As a young fan, it’s rare to find an artist whose music actually grows with you and sticks around through different stages of life, but Mac’s discography has always done that for me. His songs don’t tell you how to feel, they just give you the space to feel something, and everyone in that room felt it in their own way. Walking out of Mac Hall, there was this shared sense of happiness, like we all experienced something special together, and that’s what makes Mac DeMarco’s music stay with you long after the show is over.
Photo credit: Shannon Johnston (@me_onlylouder)