Cover Feature Every dog has its day: Mac DeMarco

While Charli XCX may have her ‘Angels’ and Lady Gaga her ‘Little Monsters’, in the indie world, there are few artists with as loyal a tribe of fans as Mac DeMarco. Since the Canadian broke through with second album ‘2’ in 2012, his uniquely charming mix of doe-eyed crooning and goofball japes has landed him an increasingly large and adoring group of acolytes (Little Macs, perhaps?). And tonight, rounding off a brief trip to the UK with a last minute, super sweaty, super sold out show at revamped Holloway boozer Nambucca, the Little Macs are out in full force. One fan has even flown all the way over from Italy - sans ticket - in the hope that someone will take pity and let him in. Mac does. Others shout out proclamations of love to Mac’s absent mother Agnes as he plays. Everyone here is universal in their word for word knowledge of the DeMarco back catalogue.

Though most artists will profess their love for these kind of intimate gigs - while secretly balking at the prospect of having to slum it back in a 2x2m dressing room - this is clearly the kind of shit Mac lives for. Rewind 30 hours, however, and, sat in a coffee shop a few miles down the road, he’s talking about the complete opposite: namely that this year, with forthcoming third album ‘This Old Dog’ in tow, the unassuming star will make the leap to festival headliner status, topping the bill at End of the Road alongside Father John Misty. It’s a big deal. The kind of deal that most artists would wait a lifetime for, but Mac… well, to be honest, Mac didn’t even realise it was happening. “We’re headlining?!,” he asks, sipping a black coffee and looking surprised. “I didn’t know that, but that’s really cool.”