It's only been a few years since singer-songwriter and Oregon native Max McNown was inspired to seriously pursue a music career thanks to a stranger he met while strumming his guitar on the San Clemente Pier in California. Since then it has been at the top Bulletin boardrising chart artists and saw his song “A Lot More Free” climb to No. 29 on the Hot Country Songs chart.
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The song, which featured his raspy, conversational vocals, was the centerpiece of his debut album, Wanderingwhich was released in April. Along the way, that song, along with follow-ups like “Love Me Back,” have placed McNown squarely in the ranks of acoustic-based folk-country artists like Wyatt Flores and Sam Barber.
It was named as Bulletin boardNovember's Country Rookie of the Month, McNown will be out in 2025 with a new full-length album, the nine-song set Night divingreleased on January 24, 2025, Bulletin board can reveal.
As with songs his fans have come to know like “A Lot More Free,” the new music focuses on his poetic, observational writing style while adding polish to his personal songs. The upcoming album will include songs such as his new release “Better Me for You”, his recent release “Hotel Bible” and a collaboration with Hailey Whitters on “Roses and Wolves”.
Although McNown says he always had hopes of becoming a singer, he says, “It was a dream. I never thought I would pursue it. Realistically, I wanted to do something in architecture or business administration, but it wasn't until I was 21 that I took a step towards music.”
After graduating high school at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, McNown began working at a coffee company while taking university classes online. Within months, he found himself feeling burned out and anxious. “It was a kind of creation. One day, I decided I needed a change of scene and try something new,” he says.
Armed with a guitar given to him by his father, McNown set out for California. He worked again in a coffee shop and a colleague encouraged him to play guitar on the San Clemente Pier. While singing songs like Tyler Childers' “Lady May,” a stranger approached him and introduced McNown to the music of Zach Bryan.
“He showed me three songs and one of them was 'Get Out Alive,'” he explains. “I liked him and I liked his voice. It sounded very similar to my tone, and it gave me so much courage because my whole life I've been trying to sing pop songs by Shawn Mendes or Justin Bieber and my voice didn't sound like them. I was like, “Okay, if he can do this with guitar and poetry, maybe I can.”
Now based in Nashville, McNown spoke with Bulletin board on the success of “A Lot More Free,” his upcoming album featuring country artist Hailey Whitters, and his musical aspirations.
How are you dealing with the success of “A Lot More Free” and adjusting to a career in music?
It's completely life changing. It's like everything outside feels like everything is spinning. We hit all the different spots we need to hit on our journey. I am very grateful and definitely prioritize keeping my foundation strong and humility in this department.
“A Lot More Free” took off about a year after the song was released. What prompted it?
When “A Lot More Free” first came out, I remember the first video I made for it. I was with my sister in the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon. He shot scenes of me walking in front of the canyon and I said, “What if this became a travel song?” This breakdown into the song of harmonica and instruments, just the feeling it created started to resonate with people and they started creating their own travel videos to their favorite places. I saw the momentum, so I started creating video compilations of their videos.
I'd upload them and say, “Oh, there's thirty-three videos, thank you very much.” Then the next day, maybe 400 videos had been made and I would make collective videos out of them and thank the people who made them. It snowballed and that was the start of the first round of development.
When views [eventually] it started to drop a little bit, we put out a video of me singing the song – that second huge development that happened was connecting the song to the artist. I saw this massive influx of followers on TikTok and Instagram — we went from 90,000 Instagram followers to 950,000 in less than two months. We saw the difference in concert as well — at the beginning, I was playing a whole show and at the end I was playing the song and you could hear the murmurs, like, “Oh, I love this song. Is he covering this song?”, but after all the growth of social media, at [10-show fall] Touring Canada, people were singing the words and they knew I was singing it.
On the new album, you collaborate with Hailey Whitters on the song “Roses and Wolves.” How did he come to be part of the project?
I've been a Hailey fan forever. Evan Honer did a collaboration [“Fighting For”] Haley has a very distinct, beautiful country voice with her, but she went into this register that I hadn't really heard before that collaboration, and I was like, “Man, I'm dying to know what she's going to do. it sounds like in Roses and Wolves, specifically in this song. And she's just such a reliable country singer.
I think part of my journey has been trying to shake the stigma about TikTok kids that a lot of people will have, but I like to think that what's coming is better than a 'TikTok kid that comes flashing'. For Hailey to come on this song with her beautiful voice – I've also heard from a lot of people in my camp who relate to her, and they all love Hailey. So we arrived and she said yes to the song. We actually just shot some content for it and he's the sweetest, sweetest person.
You also return to another song that fans have connected with, “Freezing in November,” which was inspired in part by your brother's battle with cancer. How is it different to revisit this song on the new album?
When I wrote “Freezing in November” originally, I had no vocal training, no vocal experience, and the song was just a simple melody that stuck. I've been playing shows and over time I've started to alternate between different tunes in each show, to find a different way to drive home the feeling I want to get across. I started belting out the second verse, into the second chorus and I just feel the different vocal ability. So to sing it again, I feel like I did it justice the second time around.
What drives you, creatively?
I definitely prioritize writing. Lyrics are the most important thing in my music. Maybe I'm not the best instrumentalist, so I rely on the lyrics anyway. The music I've always loved has always been lyrical. It's always been about the story you're telling and the emotion it's evoking. And so yeah, lyrics and poetry are definitely where I start with all my music.
What's your favorite concert you've ever been to?
NF, which is perhaps out of left field. When it comes to honest lyricism, there isn't much better than NF. I was a big fan in high school, so to see him in person, it's the only time in my life that I've ever seen someone—and I've had some seats with nosebleeds—but to see him come on stage and to see someone you deeply adore and respect, to you see them there and think, “They're in the same room. He is a real person.' This is crazy.
What is your favorite album that you can always listen to?
Everything by Noah Kahan. Just sonically, the instruments and the feel… my songs are heavily influenced by this album. Artists like Noah, Zach Bryan, Tyler Childers gave me that courage. These are basically guys with guitars, writing beautiful poetry over four chords.
When you're on the road, what's your favorite street snack?
You can never go wrong with a Snickers. If I'm a little hungry but don't need a full meal, this is my go-to.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/country/max-mcnown-billboard-country-rookie-month-1235828281/
