Mac Hoffmann is a Minneapolis-based songwriter working at the intersection of the personal, the political, and the absurd. Rooted in Americana and shaded with folk, blues, and bluegrass, his songs pair lyrical precision with a restrained musical backdrop—letting the words lead and the music listen.

With a background spanning courtrooms and codebases, breakdowns and breakthroughs, ambition and surrender, he treats songwriting not as therapy or hobby, but as vocation: a daily discipline of ache, clarity, and control.

His newest album, Sisyphean Smile, is his most expansive work yet—a philosophical, hard-earned acceptance wrapped in wry grit and melodic restraint. It sits alongside Twilight of My Idols, an unflinching critique of institutions where philosophy and folk tradition meet head-on; Midwest Finesse, a quieter, slyer debut EP full of hesitation, bruised affection, and sideways charm; and The Fall of the Velvet Hammer, a politically charged acoustic reckoning drawn from his time in the Illinois legislature.

Released through Gut Hooked Records—the independent label Hoffmann founded as a formal home for his music—his work arrives backed not by industry machinery, but by conviction, structure, and self-reliance.