How Tony Mac Plays
What I like to do when mixing
My sets are built around intention, energy & variety.
I love:
-
taking the audience through a journey of different genres, decades & vibes.
-
reading the room & making adjustments on the fly
-
using mashups, edits, and remixes to provide novelty and surprise
-
alternating between blending, scratching and slamming
My goal is always the same:
Create a fun, high-energy, emotionally charged atmosphere where people feel alive, connected, and free.
As an MC, I focus on making people feel:
✔ welcomed
✔ seen
✔ HYPED
✔ comfortable
✔ excited for what’s coming next
What Tony Mac Plays
I've been exposed to a wide array of music throughout my life.
Growing up, I gravitated towards hip hop with artists like Eminem, 50 Cent, Ludacris, Lil Wayne, Akon and those alike because the aggressiveness, swagger, and hustle mindset was appealing to me.
On the weekends, I would be woken up early Saturday morning to the tunes of Adele, The Cranberries, or the Red Hot Chilli Peppers and others from my dad on his apple desktop.
As a family, we would frequent Borders (a place that sold books & music in the 2000s). I would spend most my time in the music section listening to all the different albums they had to preview such as Moby, Weezer, Sean Paul, and others..
Around the house, my sister, Stephanie, would always be singing Paramore, My Chemical Romance, Flyleaf and the like. At the time I didn't like the music because of her singing lol But, now, those bands & tracks hold a special place in my heart and I love playing them.
My oldest sister, Megan, really liked researching & knowing everything about the bands she liked such as O-Town, Gorrilaz, Say Anything and others. I always picked her brain when I heard songs she played that I liked.
For Christmas, I would often get the Now This Is What You Called Music cds. As a kid, I loved these because of the
variety of genres that would be on them like Britney Spears, Lifehouse, Aerosmith, Janet Jackson and others.
So when asked, "what do I play",
I love taking my crowd/audience through a journey of decades, genres and energy.
After moving to California in the summer of 2010, I went to my first rave and instantly got hooked on EDM with artists like Pretty Lights, Afrojack, Rusko, and others.
In College, I was still really into hip hop, especially freestyles and mixtapes. The Dreamchasers series by Meek Mill & DJ Drama really helped me with my mindset & motivation. Also, I got into classical, instrumental, and lofi tracks because they helped me stay in the zone when studying.
Currently, I genre hop all the time when listening to music personally because I'm often around my parent in-laws who loves the 70s; my sibling in-laws who love metal, rock, pop, trance, and deep house; my wife who loves melodic EDM; and myself who appreciates country, house, and instrumentals.
Where Tony Mac Plays
As of now, I mainly play at weddings, backyard events, birthdays, proms, & private parties. My current setup allows me to comfortably cover events of 200–250 guests, whether indoors or outdoors.
As to where I see myself playing in the future, I definitely want to upgrade my sound system to cover larger audiences, to play more public venues like bars, clubs, and opening up for local artists and to play online such as Twitch and Mixcloud.
Anywhere that has an audience ready to party!
Why Tony Mac Plays
The Human of Tony Mac
I DJ & MC because this is where I can fully express myself through energy, movement, connection, and purpose. It’s the lane where I get to help others, stay active, support my family, and make a living doing something that feels meaningful.
I’ve worked many jobs over the years, from corporate roles to classrooms. I earned my degree, completed my teacher credential, and became a special education teacher. Every experience taught me valuable lessons I now bring into my work as an entertainer, communicator, and business owner.
TME is the place where all of that comes together.
TME allows me to build a career that not only fuels my passion, but also gives me the flexibility to show up for the people who matter most, especially Jess, who lives with chronic illness, and my mother-in-law as she battles cancer.
