MACROCK gives underground, indie, punk, and metal bands a chance to gain exposure and publicity by showcasing them during two days of performances around the city of Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Cutting its ties with JMU and incorporating as a not-for-profit, the festival moved from the university campus to downtown Harrisonburg.

[4] Acts perform in locally-popular venues such as Little Grill Collective and Artful Dodger.

The organizing committee selects musical acts annual on a “blind listening” basis where members listen to audio submissions and give each a score prior to viewing festival appearance applications.

[4] Notable bands to perform at MACROCK have included Animal Collective, Archers of Loaf, Dismemberment Plan, Sufjan Stevens, Mates of State, Converge, Give up the ghost, Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra, Of Montreal, Norma Jean, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Poison the Well, Bane, Superchunk, Elliott Smith (1997),[7] An Albatross, Coheed and Cambria,[8] Fugazi (2002), Best Coast, The War on Drugs (band),[9] Screaming Females, S. Carey, The Bouncing Souls,[10] Diarrhea Planet, Priests (band), Shana Falana, Mal Devisa, New England Patriots, Ono, Dogs on Acid, Crown Larks, Abdu Ali, Horrendous, Container, Buck Gooter, and Plattenbau.