Mac DeMarco-Oklahoma City-5.19.26

Mac DeMarco at The Criterion in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on May 19th, 2026.

Photos and Review by The Pit Magazine Contributor Nicole Pollock.

“MAC DEMARCO: SOLD OUT” read the sign above the doors of The Criterion. The line began at those doors, wrapping around the entire block making it the longest line I have personally ever seen at this venue. This many people being in line before doors even opened means that the opening artist would have a large crowd in attendance for his set.

People were still filing through the doors as Tex Crick took the stage. The band’s setup was super laid back. Crick was seated at his keyboard with headphones on. The rest of the band was also seated including his guitarist and bassist creating a calmer stage presence which was perfect for the genre of music. The drums were soft and the keys were bouncy and sometimes jazzy, the type of music you might throw on while cooking dinner on a chill evening. The audience got pretty into the set, clapping along and even putting up their flashlights for the last song. Crick wrapped up with a tempo change, consistently getting faster and faster before dropping back to the original tempo to finish the final song. The performance was a short and sweet 30 minutes before the preparation for Mac began.

TEX CRICK GALLERY

The SOLD OUT sign stood as proof that Oklahoma was in a Mac DeMarco drought as it had been years since he performed in the state. His most recent album, Guitar, was released in August of last year and lucky for us, the album’s tour worked its way through Oklahoma City. An OKC Thunder jersey was gifted to the artist with DeMarco on it as a welcome back gift.

The Criterion’s first and second floors were absolutely packed with fans as Mac made his entrance. Immediately, before any songs or monologue, each band member was introduced by name and where they are from. “On the Level” kicked off the show, performed through a thick layer of fog and a brightness that leaned to the darker side of stage lights. DeMarco has this on-stage habit where he tosses the microphone back and forth between his hands and he drops it then catches it mid-air. At one point, he swung it around in a big circle by the mic’s cord like it was a lasso before catching it.

MAC DEMARCO GALLERY

His studio music is very calm and dreamy with slow guitars, soft vocals, and gentle lyrics. All of these carry over to his live performances. I actually prefer his live performance of “Rock and Roll Night Club” to the studio version. The audience was also loving the live music as they were singing DeMarco’s music back to him louder than possibly any other crowd I’ve heard. The night’s setlist was lengthy and full of favorite hits across all of his albums but ended with “Chamber of Reflection” and “My Kind of Woman.” The sold out venue was soon emptied and Oklahoman’s hope that DeMarco will return for another show soon.