A star is born: Newcastle's country musician has golden touch

Since the moment she was named 2022 Toyota Star Maker, the Newcastle musician has achieved one milestone, after another.

She went to Nashville, recorded an album or two, performed to huge crowds at festivals, was named 2024 Tamworth Country Music Ambassador, and is being tapped for two 2024 Golden Guitar nominations for New Talent and Female Artist of the Year.

Despite her growing success the nominations took her totally off guard.

"I was really surprised," she said.

"I hoped to get the new talent nomination because I got that one last year. But, when my name was read out, I thought, wait, do I react to that? Was that my name?

"As the people who have won that award or been nominated have been women, I have always looked up to them."

Max has gone from being that young girl who watched the Golden Guitars in her family's living room, to now walking the red carpet with some of the industry's best.

"I have been so incredibly lucky that so many of the things I wished to happen have happened, and we have just played as many shows as we could and got out there to meet as many people as we could," she said.

"It is one of those things where you chip away and work away for quite some time, and then it does feel like things fall into place at the same time."

Max said she has always known the end goal, but wasn't really sure what the journey would look like.

"I saw all these opportunities come at a time when I was ready to grab them and run with them," she said.

"I don't think I could have foreseen everything that has happened, and I've sort of gone with the flow a bit."

So what makes Max stand out in a wave of up-and-coming talent?

Her social media for one thing.

Her TikTok account has amassed 16.9k followers and continues to grow.

Even turning her latest song, A Little More Country, into an online trend.

"I have really loved social media for the fact that I can use it in such a positive way to connect with people," she said.

"It is such a crazy thing to think that you have a phone in your hand that is a direct contact for people who love country music and a way to share music and spark joy."

She said she finds it extraordinary how, in just a few clicks, one of her posts can reach a worldwide audience.

And she said social media has allowed Australian country music to break more into the mainstream.

"It is such a cool time for country music in Australia. When I was growing up, country music was perceived really differently than it is now," she said.

"As people were just hearing what they thought country music was without realising how diverse it was, people are finding just how great country music is.

"People are falling in love with country music more and more every day."