From humble beginnings in the small country town of Coonamble NSW (Pop. 2750), to winning Australia’s biggest country music competition, playing national & international Country Music Festivals and a Golden Guitar nomination the last eighteen months has been quite the ride for Australian Country Artist, Max Jackson.
It was in Coonamble that her love of country music blossomed. Max’s mother would take her to the big touring shows that came through town and by the age of 5 years old Max had been given her first guitar and was starting to sing songs she was either writing or learning for the family.
When the family moved from Coonamble to the harbour city of Newcastle, Max’s love of country music continued as she began singing at local Country Music nights, scored her first professional gig at 13 and attended the CMAA Junior Academy of Country Music in Tamworth twice, at the age 14 & 15 years. Another important milestone in Max’s growth as an entertainer was graduating from the Talent Development Project in Sydney, regarded as one of the most successful development programs in the Australian music and entertainment business.
Songwriting became Max’s focus and she knew that to be a successful artist depended on having great songs. Inspired by female artists/songwriters who really have something to say, Max’s early inspirations were Dolly Parton & Shania Twain, continuing on that same pattern, today Max draws inspiration from Lainey Wilson, Miranda Lambert, Hailey Whitters, and Kacey Musgraves. As Max honed her craft, she took multiple trips to Nashville and Los Angeles, taking in everything she could learn about the art of songwriting.
Along the way Max met one of her childhood idols Gina Jeffreys and both Gina and her Producer/Musician husband Rod McCormack took Max under their wings and for the last 14 years Max has been mentored by Gina and all of her music has been produced by Rod. Additionally, Gina has taken Max out on the road to open many of her shows during this time.
In February 2020, Max released her debut album Life Of The Party and Australian magazine, Country Music Capital News’ described her songs as “carefully crafted, nuanced and expertly woven together”, whilst legendary Australian songwriter, Colin Buchanan said; “It’s just such an accomplished album. The songs are sharp, the production is vivid and full of life. And Max is the star of the show, singing with assurance, spirit and sublime control.”
A well used saying in the music business is that “timing is everything” and after 3 years of covid turbulence in the world 2022 was destined to be the time for things to click into another gear for Max. Max became the 42nd winner of Toyota Star Maker – Australia’s most prestigious country music competition and rounded out the same year as a New Talent nominee in the Toyota 51st Golden Guitar Awards. Winning Star Maker placed Max in the company of previous winners that include Keith Urban, Lee Kernaghan, James Blundell, Beccy Cole, Travis Collins, Gina Jeffreys, Samantha McClymont, Brad Cox and New Zealand’s Kaylee Bell.
After a year of travelling the country as the 2022 Star Maker Winner and playing major Country Music festivals throughout that year as a part of the Starmaker prize, Max now finds herself in a new and exciting phase of her career again. In August Max signed a management contract with Stephen White Management, seeing her join an elite stable of artists including Lee Kernaghan, The Wolfe Brothers and Canadian star Gord Bamford. Max has recently been the Special Guest on The Wolfe Brothers Livin’ The Dream Tour and is working on new songs.
In 2023, the culmination of all Max Jackson’s efforts came together. She not only signed with the prestigious Stephen White Management (Lee Kernaghan, The Wolfe Brothers); she also secured a deal with ABC Music and released her 1st single with the label, Little More Country. That single peaked at #1 on the Countrytown National Airplay Charts and held the top spot for 3 weeks. Max also was invited to perform at CMA Fest in Nashville and at SXSW in Sydney. Towards the end of 2023, Max was named the official Ambassador for the Tamworth Music Festival and also secured 2 x Golden Guitar nominations at the Australian Country Music Awards for Best Female Artist and New Talent. She won Best New Talent.
2024 has seen Max continue to grow as an artist and entertainer. She has been touring nationally as the Special Guest on The Wolfe Brothers Still Livin’ The Dream Tour, a tour that runs through most of the year. She released her second single with ABC Music called Fixin’ Things which went Top 10 on the Countrytown National Airplay Charts. Her current single Who You Did It With has gone top 10 and is still climbing. Max has been securing spots on Festivals all around Australia and will also make her debut in New Zealand in September. Max made another trip to Nashville in June to continue writing songs for her next album and to soak up the country music vibe of Music City during the CMA Festival in Nashville. On her return she was announced as Special Guest on Canadian country music legend Gord Bamford’s Australian Tour in October / November 2024.
All the signs are pointing to another big year is ahead for this rising star in Australian music.
