Guitar LIVE at Franklin Music Hall – SOLD OUT!

Mac DeMarco returns to Philadelphia for the first time since 2019!
Full gallery of night

It’s 6:45pm in September at Franklin City Music Hall, Philadelphia. You’re in the back of a line which stretches around an entire block, patiently waiting to move up a few steps more. Just as you begin turning a corner you feel a steady rain begin to come down.

Although you are wet, you look up around you and see nothing but eager and smiling faces.

Even though it’s gloomy outside, the good energy is simply contagious. Why? Well, none other than the fact you know in one hour you’ll be witnessing Mac Demarco’s glorious return to Philadelphia!

Delivering an intimate and playful performance. Mac DeMarco brought his 2025 Tour to Philadelphia, performing his newly released album ‘Guitar’ which hit the airwaves just 13 days prior. The album was a return to form for Mac, which was his firsttraditional studio album release since 2019’s ‘Here Comes the Cowboy’. Joining Mac DeMarco for the concert was Mock Media! Which joined Daryl Johns, and Vicky Farwell as openers for varying cities along the 2025 Tour!

Mock Media is a post-punk band hailing from Vernon, British Columbia. Consisting of the following members: Garnet Aronyk (Lead Vocals & Guitar), Bennett Smith (Bass Guitar), Austin Boylan (Drums), and Evan Aasen (Guitar, Keyboard, and Backing Vocals); the group were childhood friends that came together to form the band in the their hometown. Gaining recognition for their debut album: Mock Media II, released on November 17th, 2023, they began establishing a fanbase in post punk/punk rock groups with their blending of punk rock elements with electric, folk, and pop. After the buzz generated from their debut album, the group signed with ‘Mac DeMarco’s Label’ in October 2024.

The group now has the spotlight opening for Mac DeMarco along select dates of his 2025 Tour, bringing that sound over with them to Philadelphia. As fans eagerly awaited the arrival of Mac DeMarco stage the crowd was already packed in completely by 8pm. Chants of “Mac DeMarco” alongside a couple Eagles fight songs “E-A-G-L-E-S”, were soon silenced by cheers as Mock Media took the stage. “We’re sorry not yet”, the band joked with the audience. The fans had to wait one more hour for their headliner, however Mock Media made that wait go seamless, making fans call for more as they proved just why they were setting the stage!

Performing a plethora of tracks from their discography like Modern Visions, Axe, and Father of that Crime off of projects like Mock Media II and Mock Media. Mock Media blessed the audience with an energetic and punk radiant set that had people lifting their hands in the air, and their feet off the ground. Close to the end of their performance, some members removed their shirts which made many in the audience cheer.

Taking into consideration the toned back production of both their and Mac DeMarco’s set (No big screens or expensive sets), it allowed for a more intimate and punk aesthetic to thrive as you locked in more closely to the guitars, the bands movements, and when they address their audience. It’s fun, energetic, informal, and very rock! After their final track, fans were soon asking security and I for Mock Media’s guitar pics, which were tossed and some of which landed inside the pit – I was happy to pass the one I found along.

Shortly afterwards, excited fans began really packing in closer to the house. By now most people had a chance to grab merch, get a drink, and find their spot of choice to view Mac DeMarco. Smiling and excited faces radiated across the floor and into the balcony before the lights began to dim. Just like that Mac DeMarco, along with his band, began to take the stage for the first time in Philadelphia since 2019.

Mac DeMarco, age 35 is a Canadian Singer-Songwriter and catalyst of good vibes from Edmonton, Alberta where he began releasing music with his band ‘Makeout Videotape’ in 2008. In 2012, Mac set out on his solo career releasing his debut studio album ‘2’, which saw the artist deliver indie, lo-fi and psychedelic rock & pop to establish his slacker rock aesthetic as an artist. Indie audiences quickly grew onto the goofy and lovable persona Mac brings to his music and performances. Consistently releasing quality music that both sonically and contextually relates to fans, Mac DeMarco went on to drop 2014’s ‘Salad Days’, which propelled Mac DeMarco’s reach into the mainstream market; gaining him wider international attention. Tracks like “Chamber of Reflection” and “Salad Days” went on to garner hundreds of millions of streams.

After the massive success that both ‘Salad Days’ and its follow up albums ‘This Old Dog’ (2017) and ‘Here Comes the Cowboy’ (2019), Mac DeMarco went on to showcase a different side of his work on the following projects: ‘Five Easy Hot Dogs’ (2023) , which was an instrumentalist album highlighting Mac’s guitar work and instrumental storytelling. As well as a 199 track compilation album ‘One Wayne G’ (2023), which contained instrumentals, demos, and some fully produced tracks with full lyrics. Now in 2025, Mac has released his first full lyrical album, written and produced by him, in 6 years!

Opening with the first track off the album, Mac performed “Shining” accompanied by his band consisting of the talented Pedro Martins (Electric Guitar/Backing Vocals), Alex Meen (Keyboards/Backing Vocals), Daryl Johns (Bass Guitar/Backing Vocals), and Chris Fishman (Drums) delivered a strong and somber start to what would be a very fun, goofy, and introspective performance. Weaving between his latest project and older tracks such as “For the First Time” and “Salad Days”, Mac and his band treated the crowd to many fan favorites as well as many of his own. “I like this song, I like it.” I like her”, Mac stated before transitioning into “20191009 I Like Her”. You could tell from his tone he genuinely means every word he says.

One of Mac DeMarco’s strongest attributes, is that for as well as he can captivates an audience through his music, his soft calculated words mixed with his charming silly persona has allowed for Mac to have a complete grip on crowd control and dominate the room he’s in. He creates an atmosphere where his fans and himself can let loose, awkwardly dance around, bounce up and down, and have an inviting space that makes you feel yourself and free. He knows just how to hit the listener in the right spot, and his excellent band only draws out this feeling more. There were many times, like on “Moonlight on the River” where we see Mac Demarco squat down and allow each member to truly get their moment to shine, and the instrumentals of these great tracks to be enjoyed at their fullest live potential.

Mac DeMarco remarks on his love for his fans, and appreciation for being able to give them this feeling/performance. “When was the last time we were in Philly, in 2019” Mac states referencing his show on September 21st, 2019. “How many years ago was that 6? Wow, That’s just not right,” he exclaimed jokingly. He reassured the fans that their wait will be worth it as the group was “Just getting started”.

In total Mac and his band delivered a 23-track journey going through every song off of the new album ‘Guitar’. Ending with arguably his most popular song “Chamber of Reflection”, as the crowd roared in excitement. It cannot be understated how loud the pop was from the crowd. Taking a bow with the Band, and saying goodnight to Philadelphia, Mac left the stage to the loudest “One More Song” chant I’ve heard so far covering concerts. This was a SOLD OUT show, and they made sure he felt every decibel of their plea. Mac DeMarco is that guy though, and to the excitement of his fans he returned to perform one final track, “Nobody”, from Here Comes The Cowboy. The crowd pop from this was at least 2 times louder than for “Chamber of Reflection”!

In all, Mac DeMarco blessed the audience and city of Philadelphia with an evening they surely won’t forget. Delivering captivating vocal performances, chilling instrumentals, and a surprise encore, I’d say these fans got every penny worth. Even after the show, a small pocket of fans stood behind the venue to wait for Mac DeMarco to leave for his van, where Mac signed different merch, stickers, and took pictures with his fans. There’s certain things money can’t buy, and what he gave those people tonight will forever last a lifetime. No big production, no big screen, just good music, good vibes, a van, and ‘Guitar’.

See the Full Gallery of the Night Here!

If you captured any shots of the night, feel free to tag us on social media at Shutter 16 Magazine and throw in #Shutter16 and #TwitFromThePit for the world to see.

If you’d like the chance to catch Mac DeMarco LIVE yourself! Check out the remaining tour dates below:

Remaining show dates:

US DATES:

September 27 – Petaluma, CA — The Phoenix Theater
September 28 – Petaluma, CA — The Phoenix Theater
September 29 – Santa Barbara, CA — Santa Barbara Bowl

EUROPE & UK DATES:

October 21 – Amsterdam, Netherlands — Paradiso
October 22 – Rotterdam, Netherlands — Maassilo
October 25 – Paris, France — Salle Pleyel
October 27 – Prague, Czech Republic — Lucerna Velky Sal
October 28 – Hamburg, Germany — Docks
October 30 – Copenhagen, Denmark — VEGA
October 31 – Stockholm, Sweden — Fallan
November 1 – Oslo, Norway — Sentrum Scene
November 3 – Berlin, Germany — Columbiahalle
November 4 – Cologne, Germany — Carlswerk
November 5 – Brussels, Belgium — Cirque Royal
November 8 – Birmingham, England — O2 Academy
November 9 – Brighton, England — Brighton Centre
November 10 – London, England — Eventim Apollo
November 12 – Cambridge, England — Corn Exchange
November 13 – Bristol, England — The Prospect Building
November 14 – Manchester, England — Aviva Studios – Warehouse
November 17 – Dublin, Ireland — National Stadium (show 1)
November 18 – Dublin, Ireland — National Stadium (show 2)