Audio By Carbonatix
Max McNown is a much bigger deal in the world of music than I realized. The 24-year-old singer-songwriter pairs extremely well with the vocal stylings of Avery Anna.
They recently joined forces for an impromptu duet of ‘Turned Into Missing You’ without any prior rehearsal and it sounded like they’ve been performing together for years!
This is the kind of thing you can only find on a random week night in Nashville. They call it MUSIC City for a reason!
Who is Max McNown?
Born and raised in Oregon, McNown moved to Tennessee in 2023 after he unexpected rose to fame while busking in California. Videos of his pop-up beachside performances went extremely viral on TikTok.
His debut single ‘A Lot More Free’ changed Max McNown’s life forever. It immediately shot up the Billboard Hot 100 charts and earned Gold and Platinum certifications in multiple countries.
I first saw McNown perform live at a free concert series in the spring of 2024 by pure happenstance. He actually opened for Rayland Baxter, which would definitely be the other way around if that same bill was to exist today. To say I was pleasantly surprised would be an understatement.
Max McNown boasts more than two million followers on Instagram and more than 10 million monthly listeners on Spotify. I have come to learn that a large portion (if not the majority) of his fanbase is female. Many of them can be qualified as “middle-aged.” My mom absolutely loves him.
And — you know what — so do I!
I would be lying if I said I was not caught off guard by his height, and his stage presence might be a little bit corny at times (it works), but his vocals are as legit as it gets. McNown can really sing.
He sounds even better in harmony with Avery Anna.
Avery Anna could sing the phonebook.
If you are new here, welcome. I think Avery Anna has one of the most distinct female voices in Nashville right now even if I do not necessarily fall into her target audience.
I genuinely believe she out-sang Ella Langley on ‘Don’t Mind If I Do’ with Riley Green earlier this summer and I say that as someone who called Langley’s rise to superstardom before she had bangs. Need more be said?
Anna’s latest duet brought her to the BMI Rooftop. Well, the parking garage. The event was moved inside due to rain which is why the acoustics sound off in some of these videos. Cest la vie.
That did not stop George Dickel from pouring some of the best whisky on this side of the Mississippi !
The background chatter created an unfortunate din but Avery Anna and Max McNown still performed a fantastic duet of ‘Turned Into Missing You.’
Would you know that they had not practiced or performed that song together prior to that moment?