For Marc Rebillet, live performances are still front and center

Marc Rebillet, who’s performing Tuesday at the Cotillion, is famously strange and strangely famous.

At his live shows, the self-proclaimed “Loop Daddy” wears a silk bathrobe and boxer briefs, as do many of his fans.

He uses a live-looping station and midi keyboards to build songs spontaneously from the ground up, with no idea what will come next.

Not the most obvious formula for success, but it’s working.

Rebillet has repeatedly sold out venues ranging from the 10,000 capacity Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado to a four-night run at the intimate Blue Note Jazz Club.

“I’ve played Red Rocks three times, and every time, it’s absolutely terrifying,” said the 36-year-old Dallas native in a mid-September interview. “You get out there and it’s kind of awe-inspiring and shocking to face that many people, and then have to make up music for them.”

Which is a stark contrast to the Blue Note, where legends like Dizzy Gillespie and Sarah Vaughan have played before audiences of fewer than 300.

“There’s a closer, quieter, more conversational element to a smaller audience in a smaller room, where you’re sort of making contact with every single person,” Rebillet said. “Whereas in a large room, you have to treat them kind of as one big organism.”

Other venues are just, well, weird. During the pandemic, Rebillet went on a tour of outdoor drive-in concerts and came back home $5 million richer.

He’s also worked with artists ranging from hazy chanteuse Norah Jones to rapper T-Pain and is the subject of a documentary that premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.

And then there’s the press. The “Chicago Tribune” went so far as to call his one-man fusion of funk, rap and electronic music “a sonic renaissance that’s unpolished enough to remind you that he’s winging it.”

Which he most definitely is.

“I would say 95% of the show, other than the last 10 or 15 minutes, is fully improvised,” Rebillet said. “They’re not songs from my albums or from my videos. I’m just creating songs that I’ve never done before, from scratch, using the looper. And oftentimes the crowd plays a big part in that. I’ll bring them up on stage and they help me decide what to make a song about.”

With a growing legion of Loop Daddy lovers who dress up in silk bathrobes, how long will it be before they adopt a fan name like Lady Gaga’s Little Monsters?

“I guess it depends on how much your fans identify with what you do and sort of make it part of their identity,” Rebillet said. “There’s a small set of fans who refer to themselves as the Loop Children. I think it’s just a way to identify yourself by creating a sort of fun fandom around my stupid shows.”

While Rebillet’s live performances are still front and center, he has released a number of EPs and singles so that fans can experience his “lightning-in-a-bottle” creations in the privacy of their own homes.

Last year saw the landmark release of Rebillet’s first official studio single, the surprisingly polished “Vibes Alright.” After years of self-produced releases, this one found him working with producer Jacob Portrait, whose credits include Lil Yachty, Alex G and Unknown Mortal Orchestra. It even has a live drummer.

But that’s the exception to the rule, as the artist known as Loop Daddy continues to go it alone. Does Rebillet ever miss being around other humans on stage?

“Well, I’m only onstage for about an hour to an hour-and-a-half,” he said. “And then I get to be with humans the rest of the time. But yeah, I’m an only child, so I do feel very comfortable on stage alone, and I do like sort of being in control of the flow and direction of the show. And so I think it’s where I’m at my happiest, probably.

“But that being said, I love bringing people up on stage and I love collaborating with other artists,” Rebillet said. “It’s a totally different way of thinking about playing. You’re having a conversation with someone, rather than just, you know, relying on yourself, so it’s great. But yeah, I think where I’m most comfortable is on my own, all alone.”

Marc Rebillet with special guest CAPYAC

When: 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 4

Where: The Cotillion, 11120 W. Kellogg

Tickets: $48.30-$430.53, from thecotillion.com or 316-722-4201