Mac Ayres Makes Us Feel ‘Again’

Mac Ayres talented relatable music is a true vibe and endlessly appreciable.

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Makenzie Carpenter-Sais

Mac Ayres singing the song “Easy,” during his concert from the “Comfortable Enough 2023 North American Tour,” in Denver at Ogden Theatre. Mac Ayres has gained a strong following and continues to display his talented skills as his vocals are still simple yet clean.

Makenzie Carpenter-Sais, Copy Editor

After releasing his newest album, “Comfortable Enough,” Mac Ayres had another treat in mind as he hit the road for the “Comfortable Enough 2023 North American Tour.” Since his last tour appearance, “The Juicebox,” in 2019, Mac took some time to dig deep and really find himself as an artist to produce even better music than before, and he definitely did so as he released two new albums since then, with one being “Magic 8Ball” in 2021 and the other being this year’s latest release, “Comfortable Enough,” which kicked off his 2023 North American tour. In addition to Mac continuing his 2023 tour, he made a pit stop at the one and only Denver Ogden Theatre.

As the lights hit the stage, the night began. Opening artist Sonny Miles unfolded the waiting anticipation, and while Miles isn’t a commonly known artist, he definitely did not disappoint. Not only did Miles get the crowd excited and bring comedy to the stage, he revealed his incredibly unique vocals with some of his amazing lyrical singles like “Bedroom Hollywood” and “Wenuneed.” This artist is on the rise has some serious talent and was really impressive to watch. He continued the night with a few of his other hits and ended with “Cuff” from the album “Tre.” Without a doubt, Sonny Miles was the perfect artist to open the show on stage before Mac’s appearance.

Finally, after much anticipation, Mac Ayres took the stage. The show ran for almost three hours, and Mac performed 23 of not only his newest tracks, but some of the most iconic songs that brought his career to life. The concert equally consisted of his most popular music pieces from all five of his albums. Mac began the night by stepping on stage and singing the first lines of “It’s Not,” and he followed his first song with other songs from his most recent album like “Something’s Gotta Change,” “I Can’t Go On,” “Me vs. Myself,” “Again,” “Cuts Heal in Time,” and more.

While his new album made the debut, Mac also brought the show back in time with emotion and sang the most memorable fan favorites throughout the night, including “Jumping Off the Moon,” “Everytime,” “Calvin’s Joint,” “Get Away,” “Where U Goin’ Tonight,” “Get to You Again,” and even more. Mac finished off the night with a very special song known as “Easy,” his most popular song from the album “Drive Slow,” a song that really jumped his career into the spotlight. As he and the band cleared the stage, “one more song” came from the audience, as it soon began to be repeatedly shouted throughout the crowd. Mac soon reappears for an encore and sings two more songs, one of which is “Walking Home,” and he then closed the night with “Lonely,” delivering a show to remember forever.

Mac Ayres, Chris Anderson, Jordan Robertson, Argo Sims, Paul Johnson, and Zach Berro all playing “Easy” during the concert. The whole band did more than great during the concert and this is an amazing group to watch. (Makenzie Carpenter-Sais)

With his incredibly beautiful voice, Mac Ayres also had outstanding artists behind him that previously have appeared on tour with him: Chris Anderson on the drums, Jordan Robertson on the keys, Argo Sims and Paul Johnson on the guitar, and Zach Berro on the keys and saxophone all contributed to the show and made it great. One of the best and most memorable parts of the show would definitely have to be Zach Berro on the saxophone, as he blew his solos out of the water and exceeded expectations. Each artist, including Mac, appeared to be wearing casual clothing, whether it was a tank top or a t-shirt and jeans, which gives more of a homey effect as it isn’t overdone and it unintentionally matches the tour.

It doesn’t stop there. While the stage set up was really casual, like any other band’s set up, the light show really pulled the stage together. As there wasn’t anything over the top like fog or smoke, the lights had a great effect on the show as they really set the tone of each song during the show. The lights consisted of green and pink during his newer music, which matched the cover of the album perfectly, but there were other colors as well; in other songs, the lights also appeared as blue, pink, orange, and white. The lights moved along the stage in different ways with a little smog in the air, and it was definitely a standout as it really influenced the mood of the music.

The overall performance was more than perfect. Mac Ayres’ raw emotions reflect on his lyrical tracks, which makes the music so beautiful and uniquely connected to all his fans. His breezy, soulful, and dynamic jazz fusion hits are recommended to everyone, and they must get a listen in on Mac Ayres’ and his music journey. While Mac Ayres is still a smaller artist, he is on the rise to become the next Stevie Wonder.