Australia has fallen in love with Nashville-based singer-songwriter Max McNown who has released his sophomore album Night Diving via Fugitive Recordings x The Orchard alongside the release of his introspective single “Better Me For You (Brown Eyes) with the track receiving instant adds at Australian radio.
The new single boasts earnest lyrics that offer a personal reflection on rising to the occasion for a once-in-a-lifetime love. The song’s protagonist has just met the girl of his dreams, “but it’s more than just her alluring brown eyes that captivate him,” shares Max. “She imbues goodness and, above all, has a “heart of gold.”
The single is part of the stunning Night Diving LP, which is McNown’s promising follow-up to his critically-acclaimed debut album Wandering. Produced by Jamie Kenney (Colbie Caillat, Laci Kaye Booth), Night Diving is a body of work that explores new and daring sonic terrain while fully affirming McNown’s extraordinary capacity to ease the mind and strengthen the soul.
In an exclusive feature revealing McNown as Country Rookie of the Month, Billboard says, ”The new music centers on his poetic, observational writing style, while adding polish to his personally-crafted songs.” Read the full interview here.
McNown was also featured as CMT’s Next Up Now featured artist as we saw the release of his Willfully Blind EP, which landed as the Oregon-born artist made his Americana Fest debut, and as we saw another major resurgence of his breakout hit single “A Lot More Free” after this TikTok celebrating the track’s one year anniversary went viral (14.7M views and counting). Since the single’s release it has amassed over 80M+ streams, earned McNown a top spot as #1 on Billboard’s Emerging Artists chart, peaked at #1 on the iTunes singles chart and #1 on the TikTok Breakthrough USA chart, climbed the Canadian Hot 100 chart, and was placed on Spotify’s Hot Country and Viral 50 global playlists.
At 23, McNown has already been on a storied musical journey. Taking control of his future, overcoming personal challenges, and drawing inspiration from his brother who was bravely fighting cancer, McNown packed his bags and drove from remote Oregon to Southern California. From there, videos of him busking on a pier made an impact online and eventually grew into a legion of supporters on TikTok (currently has 1.9M followers). After attracting interest from major TV talent shows, McNown auditioned for one and then decided it wasn’t for him and gracefully turned them down as he knew he needed to walk his own path.
The rising singer-songwriter’s debut headline tour kicks off in January 2025 in the U.S. and has already sold out stops in New York City, Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, and cities across Australia.
Due to incredible demand for the rising country star’s debut, Frontier Touring is thrilled to announce a second show in Sydney and a brand-new show in Perth have been added to his upcoming A Lot More Free Tour, heading to Australia and New Zealand this May!
Making his way down under for the first time, McNown will stop at Auckland’s Powerstation on Sunday 4 May, before heading over to Australia for seven shows at The Tivoli, Brisbane on Tuesday 6 May and Wednesday 7 May, Roundhouse, Sydney on Sunday 11 May and now on Monday 12 May (just added!) Forum, Melbourne on Tuesday 13 May and Wednesday 14 May and now a final show at Metro City, Perth on Friday 16 May.
Stream Night Diving album HERE