Mac DeMarco

DeMarco was born in Duncan, British Columbia on Vancouver Island, and raised in Edmonton, Alberta. His great-grandfather is Vernor Smith, Alberta's former Minister of Railways and Telephones, for whom DeMarco was named,and his grandfather (also named Vernor Winfield McBriare Smith) was a judge of the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta.

DeMarco attended McKernan School for junior high. Around this time he started playing guitar, with lessons from his grandmother.During high school he was in several bands, including indie rock band The Meat Cleavers, alternative R&B group The Sound of Love and post-punk band Outdoor Miners (along with current keyboardist, Alec Meen), which was named after a song by English rock band Wire.He started smoking cigarettes as a teenager, which has now become a big part of his image.

Living in the Killarney neighbourhood, he released a self-produced album, Heat Wave, as a part of the indie rock project Makeout Videotape in 2009. The album sold out its 500-unit run.DeMarco worked on "psychedelic" video projects during this time.He was joined by Alex Calder and Jen Clement, signed to Unfamiliar Records, and toured with Vancouver band Japandroids in 2009.In 2011, DeMarco moved from Vancouver to Montreal to begin recording as a solo artist. Failing to find work as a musician, he participated in medical experiments for money and worked on a road paving crew.On January 9, 2012, record label Captured Tracks announced the signing of DeMarco. In early 2012, he released an LP titled Rock and Roll Night Club. The four-track-recorded album features skits and slowed-down vocals.

Rock and Roll Night Club impressed his new label enough that they agreed to release a full-length follow-up album. This release, entitled 2, was received well by critics, garnering a "Best New Music" designation from Pitchfork. One of his songs, "Moving Like Mike", was licensed by U.S. retail outlet Target for a commercial.

On January 21, 2014, DeMarco announced the release of his upcoming second album, Salad Days, along with debuting the lead single "Passing Out Pieces". The record was released on April 1, 2014, and again received the "Best New Music" designation from Pitchfork. It was a shortlisted nominee for the 2014 Polaris Music Prize.

DeMarco made his first talk show appearance (and second TV appearance after The Eric Andre Show) when he performed the song "Let Her Go" on Conan on March 30, 2015. On April 22, 2015, DeMarco announced the release of an upcoming album titled Another One, which was released on August 7, 2015, in addition to a video depicting the making of Another One. DeMarco describes the album to be a collection of love songs, "It's just kind of like every angle of how somebody might feel if they're having strange feelings in their chest." On May 11, 2015, Captured Tracks released the first single of Another One, titled "The Way You'd Love Her". Another One received a generally favourable response from music critics, scoring 75/100 on Metacritic. Still in Rock has ranked this LP as the third best of 2015.

On July 8, 2015, DeMarco released a 9-track instrumental album titled Some Other Ones and called it a "BBQ soundtrack".Later that evening, he hosted a listening party in New York City (where DeMarco was based) for fans to hear Another One, where they could get free hot dogs if they donated to a food bank.

On January 31, 2017, DeMarco announced his third studio album, titled This Old Dog. He also released two singles from the album on the same day. This Old Dog was released on May 5, 2017.

On October 10, 2017, DeMarco appeared on Charlie Rose, in which the two discussed the new album, as well as DeMarco's relationship with his father. Acting as bookends to the interview, DeMarco performed acoustic versions of This Old Dog, as well as Still Together.

On April 8, 2018, DeMarco appeared on FishCenter Live and had an interview with Max Simonet. He partnered with the non-profit organization Plus1 for his tours that year, and one dollar for every ticket purchase went to the Girls Rock Camp Alliance to: "[empower] girls, trans and gender-diverse young people through music education and mentorship."

On March 5, 2019, DeMarco announced his fourth studio album, Here Comes the Cowboy and shared the first single off the album, "Nobody". The album was released on May 10, 2019 on Mac's Record Label [sic]. A controversy emerged once it was pointed out online that DeMarco's album shared a similar title to the 2018 album Be the Cowboy by Mitski and that her album had also included a single called "Nobody". According to Pitchfork, DeMarco had "never listened to Mitski's album and learned about her album and song title only after determining his own album title and single". Mitski responded to the controversy on Twitter, stating, "I'm 100% sure mac & I just went fishing in the same part of the collective unconscious!". The album received mixed reviews from critics and audiences upon release. It marked his first top ten appearance in the US Billboard 200 at number 10.

On September 7, 2020, DeMarco was featured on a collaboration with English artist Yellow Days entitled "The Curse". On October 28, 2020, DeMarco was again featured on French musician Myd's single "Moving Men". An animated version of DeMarco also appeared in the music video for the single. Released October 28, 2020, DeMarco also appeared in the music video for the song "Whatever You Want" by Crowded House. DeMarco contributed a cover of the Metallica song "Enter Sandman" to the charity tribute album The Metallica Blacklist, released in September 2021.

In October 2021, DeMarco returned to live performances following a hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. His return to the stage was marked by changes to his live band, with the departure of longtime members Joe McMurray, Andrew White and Jon Lent, and the addition of Darryl Johns (bass) and JD Beck (drums). Andy White confirmed his departure shortly afterwards stating: "Mac’s an old friend, life is long, and no one knows the future. I'm incredibly stoked to see his new line-up soon as I can. I loved his band before I was in it. I loved playing in it, and I will always look forward to what our bud is putting together in the future."

On December 10th, 2021. Mac was featured on a new track titled "MENTHOL*" by Jean Dawson.