Mac Ayres

Ayres grew up in Sea Cliff, New York, and graduated from North Shore High School, where he played first base on the varsity baseball team. He sang in various choral groups as a child, including the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra and the North Shore High School Madrigals.[1] He attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, from 2014 to 2017, dropping out to work on his Drive Slow EP.[2] He is self-taught at each instrument he plays, having learned piano at age 11 and guitar at age 16. He is the oldest of six siblings. His youngest sister, Charley, has performed on stage with him. He currently lives in Brooklyn, New York, and is in a long-term relationship with his girlfriend.

Ayres released his first EP in 2017 titled Drive Slow after dropping out of Berklee that same year.[3][1] This project would include singles like "Easy" & "Calvin's Joint", named for his younger brother, Calvin. After garnering critical acclaim and a loyal fanbase, he would eventually release his full-length debut album, Something to Feel, the following summer.[2][4] Ayres' second full-length album, Juicebox, was released in 2019.[5]His worldwide tour of Juicebox was cut short after the sold out domestic leg due to the coronavirus pandemic. On November 30, 2020, Ayres performed on NPR's Tiny Desk Concerts (from home), which, at the time, was a long-awaited appearance.

In an interview with music blog EarToTheGround Music, Ayres mentioned among his musical influences the iconic, "Teddy Pendergrass, most of Motown, and especially the iconic Stevie Wonder." His defining artist was D'Angelo, whose album VooDoo "felt like what music is supposed to be to me," according to Ayres.[6]

His fourth project, an album entitled Magic 8ball, was released to critical acclaim on January 8, 2021.

Studio albums

• Something to Feel (2018)
• Juicebox (2019)

EPs

• Drive Slow (2017)
• Magic 8ball (2021)