MacBriare Samuel Lanyon Demarco (born Vernor Winfield MacBriare Smith IV; April 30, 1990) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer.
2008
After graduating from Strathcona High School in Edmonton in 2008, Demarco became a backing musician.
He then moved to Vancouver.
2009
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.
2011
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.
2012
He has released six full-length studio albums, his debut, 2 (2012), Salad Days (2014), This Old Dog (2017), Here Comes the Cowboy (2019), Five Easy Hot Dogs (2023), and One Wayne G (2023).
He additionally released the mini-albums Rock and Roll Night Club in 2012 and Another One in 2015.
His style of music has been described as "blue wave" and "slacker rock", or, by Demarco himself, "jizz jazz".
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 MacBriare Smith) was a judge of the Court of King's Bench of Alberta.
His mother, Agnes Demarco, later changed his name to MacBriare Samuel Lanyon Demarco after his father left and refused to pay child support when Demarco was four years old.
Demarco is also of Italian descent.
Mac 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 "Outdoor Miner", a song by English rock band Wire.
He started smoking cigarettes as a teenager, which would become a big part of his image.
In January 2023, Demarco said he no longer smokes.
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.
2014
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.
2015
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.
2017
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.
