Photo credit: @takenbydaylin
Interview by RA Beattie, Marketing & Artist Relations Director, Breedlove Guitars
Oregon-born singer-songwriter Max McNown blends the storytelling spirit of Americana with the accessibility of folk-pop, drawing on influences from John Foreman, Jack Johnson, Amos Lee, and Oregon’s own Mat Kearney. His debut album Wandering captured a season of searching and self-discovery, while Night Diving and The Cost of Growing Up revealed a more confident artist unwilling to compromise his voice. Along the way, songs like “Take This Plane” and “A Lot More Free” have resonated deeply with listeners, turning personal heartbreak into universal catharsis. Today, with a loyal fanbase, a growing catalog, and a sound that bridges genres, McNown stands poised to represent Oregon on a national stage.
It was a warm summer afternoon in Bend, Oregon, when I settled into a chair along one of the main streets downtown to take a call from Max McNown. Ethan Luck, his longtime collaborator, joined as well. This was my first time speaking with Max, though just a week earlier we’d sent him a new Breedlove. By coincidence, it had arrived and they both connected for the first time in my hometown of Aspen, Colorado. Ethan had even sent me a video of Max trying it out. That small point of connection—Oregon, Colorado, Breedlove, and music—set the tone for what followed.
I asked Max how growing up in Oregon shaped him. He didn’t hesitate. “The Northwest is the essence of my being,” he told me. Oregon isn’t just backdrop in his story; it’s in his bones. His early influences—John Foreman, Jack Johnson, Amos Lee, and Mat Kearney—bled into his sound as he began carving out his own voice. Along the way came milestones: his debut album Wandering, followed by Night Diving and The Cost of Growing Up—projects that mirrored his growth from self-doubt to self-assurance.
The conversation turned toward the music scene in the Pacific Northwest. Portland and Seattle may have given the world everything from Jimi Hendrix to Nirvana to The Decemberists, but what about the last decade? Max leaned in. “There are incredible artists in Oregon, but I think we’re just scratching the surface of how much more the region has to give,” he said. “I want my music to be part of that next wave.”
I asked him what he thinks makes his music resonate. His answer kept coming back to authenticity. He laughed about not being a TikTok dancer, about watching other artists chase trends. For him, the approach is simpler: post a clip from Tulsa, share a stripped-down performance, keep it honest. “If somebody listens to my music, watches an interview, and then meets me in person, I hope I’m the same person they expected,” he said.
When I pressed him about songwriting, he didn’t shy away from the darker places. Songs like “Take This Plane” and “A Lot More Free” came out of heartbreak—survival songs more than radio singles. “Writing the song helped me process what I needed to process,” he told me. “And the reason it resonated with others is because it helps them process too.” These days, with a fiancée and a stronger sense of home, he finds himself writing from a place of gratitude while still imagining the losses that would devastate him. “Treat writing sessions like therapy sessions,” he said. “That’s where the best songs come from.”
Looking back, Max called Wandering exactly what it was: a season of figuring things out, forgiving himself for the mistakes and the learning curve. By the time he recorded Night Diving and The Cost of Growing Up, he was more confident, more unwilling to let someone else’s words define his story. “If something wasn’t me, I said nope until we found what was true,” he said. That streak of self-assurance carries into the new material he’s working on now, where he’s leaning hard into what sets him apart: being an artist from Oregon, proud of it, and determined to carry that identity into every note.
Eventually our talk circled back to guitars, specifically Breedlove. I asked how it felt when he first picked up his new one. Ethan jumped in about the importance of finding Max a guitar that felt like his own, and Max lit up. “I was playing a great guitar, but it wasn’t me,” he admitted. “Now playing this guitar just feels right. The fact that you were able to get it out so soon means the world to me. This partnership checks every single box we could have possibly prayed for.” Sitting there in Bend, hearing that, it felt like the threads had tied themselves together—an Oregon artist, an Oregon company, and a story still unfolding.
Before we wrapped up, I asked him about the future. Max didn’t talk about the distant horizon. He talked about presence. “I’m absolutely in love with the life that’s been given to me,” he said. “My goal is just to keep doing it each day and write music that means something to me. It’s like a staircase—you don’t leap a hundred steps at once. You take one step each day, and before you know it, you look back and realize how far you’ve come.”
For us at Breedlove, welcoming Max McNown doesn’t feel like signing a new artist so much a connecting with a new friend. He’s Oregon-born, authenticity-driven, and as real as they come—an artist whose story is only beginning, one step, one song, one guitar at a time.
To keep up with Max McNown’s journey, new music, and upcoming shows, follow him on Instagram and TikTok @maxmcnown and stream his music on Spotify, Apple Music and all major platforms. For videos, tour dates, and more, visit maxmcnown.com.
