Mac Demarco – First Avenue – Minneapolis MN – May 6th 2026

First Avenue presents Mac Demarco with special guests Mock Media on May 6th 2026

Review and photos by Aiden Cooper

First Avenue is a venue that needs no introduction, so it’s only natural that an artist that needs no introduction would perform there. Mac Demarco at First Avenue was a fever dream filled with a packed venue, buzzing excitement, weird humor, and lots of energy. This show was sold out and you knew it right when you got to the venue. I showed up to First Avenue an hour before doors and the line to get in was already wrapped around the block going both ways from the door. People in line were shocked that they were even at the show and the excitement was beginning to grow. Rumors of Mac showing up early to meet fans were spreading like wildfire, but they were just rumors.

After finally making it into the show the first thing that stood out to me was a massive line that went from the bar next to the merch table to the wall of the complete other side of the venue. This was the merch line. Moving in to see what all the hype was about I saw multiple t-shirt designs, a show poster, hats, and a record of his newest album Guitar, which came out last August. As the venue started to fill and the merch line started to die down the excitement grew to an all time high. Everyone was ready for this show to start and it felt like tonight was going to go down as an iconic First Avenue performance.

The first and only opener was a band called Mock Media, a four-piece band out of Vernon, British Columbia signed to Mac’s label and who’re known for their dramatic stage presence and eclectic genre bending electronic punk rock. These guys came out firing. Being that they have a two album catalog and a new single they were able to pull from a lot of music with the highlight being said single Rat Bastard which features a slower intro that builds to an earworm chorus. Truly a killer song. Mock Media handled their set with style and an overwhelming confidence that was able to somehow get the crowd even more hype.

Mac Demarco took the stage and surprised everyone by playing a few of his more somber tracks. The first chunk of songs included Shining from his new album as well as Salad Days and even I Like Her off of his nine hour long demos album. This song kicked off a trend that spanned the entire night where he’d introduce every couple of songs as one of his big hit songs My Kind of Woman. This would prompt the audience to lose their minds and erupt into cheers before a collective laugh when he would play a different song in his catalog. Capping off the first half of his set he played the track Heart to Heart which is a message to his friend and beloved artist Mac Miller reflecting on his unfortunate passing. This song immediately captivated the audience and numerous people shouted “Rest in peace Mac Miller” from the floor.

In the second half of his set there were a few standout moments. First was when he played part of his song Ode to Viceroy and immediately played it a second time when someone yelled to play it again. Next, was when he played Freaking Out the Neighborhood and broke out into a jam at the end, but when it was over he counted the band back in at a faster tempo and they played it again while Mac ran around the stage. This repeated about eight times with each being a faster tempo than the last. Mac ended his set with a three song encore that included the highly anticipated My Kind of Woman and a cover of O Canada on top of a typical Mac Demarco sounding instrumental. At the end of the night, people stuck around in all areas of the venue hoping to meet Mac. While funnelling out I saw people in complete post concert shock discussing how this was the best concert they had ever seen. Mac came to Minneapolis, sold out First Avenue, and played a killer set that was over an hour and a half long. This night had all of the keys to a perfect show at First Avenue.