MAX MCNOWN ANNOUNCES EXPANDED EDITION OF SOPHOMORE ALBUM NIGHT DIVING (THE COST OF GROWING UP)
Featuring 11 Never-Before-Heard Songs
New Single “The Cost oF Growing Up” Out Today
NASHVILLE, TN. / LONDON, UK. – Today, Nashville-based singer-songwriter Max McNown releases the sublime new single “The Cost of Growing Up” alongside a new album announcement. An expanded edition of his stunning sophomore album with 11 new tracks, Night Diving (The Cost of Growing Up) is slated for release on 18th July via Fugitive Recordings x The Orchard x Columbia Records. Available for pre-order on Signed D2C Exclusive Clear Black Ice Colored Vinyl, Amazon Exclusive Opaque Maroon Colored Vinyl, Indie Exclusive Opaque Bone Colored Vinyl, Opaque Tangerine Coloured Vinyl, and Standard CD.
Listen to “The Cost of Growing Up” HERE / Watch the performance video HERE
Anchored in the charmingly warm vocal presence that McNown partly honed by busking at the beach in Southern California just a few years ago, Night Diving (The Cost of Growing Up) takes the latter half of its title from a gorgeously textured track that perfectly exemplifies his newly refined sound. With its rootsy and ethereal instrumentation, luminous steel guitar, lush mandolin, and soulful organ, “The Cost of Growing Up” arrives as a clear-eyed but melancholy meditation on the inevitability of pain.
“To me, the cost of growing up is an acceptance that difficult things are going to happen—from minor inconveniences to devastating loss, it’s all a part of life” says McNown. “But there’s also beauty in that because, without those hard moments, you wouldn’t be able to truly love.”
The new single is one of the 11 never-before-heard tracks featured in Night Diving (The Cost of Growing Up), the drastically expanded edition of his sophomore LP. “Even though Night Diving was the length of a full album, in my heart it never felt complete to me” reveals McNown. “All of these songs were written in the same time period, and my intention was always to have them be one body of work.” The previously unreleased songs surfaced from a recent evolution of his mesmerizing sound, spotlighting an earthy tonality informed by his upbringing in the Pacific Northwest.
“Since my first EP I’ve been on the hunt to find myself as a musician, and with this album, I’ve officially made something that fully represents me, both sonically and in my songwriting” he continues. Produced by Jamie Kenney (Colbie Caillat, Laci Kaye Booth) and made with an A-list lineup of session players, Night Diving (The Cost of Growing Up) ultimately provides an extraordinary vessel for his profoundly moving and soul-baring storytelling.
Night Diving (The Cost of Growing Up) Track List:
- Forever Ain’t Long Enough
- Better Me For You (Brown Eyes)
- St. Helens Alpenglow
- The Cost of Growing Up
- Same Questions
- Call Me If You Miss Me
- This Side of Heaven
- Marley
- Wherever I’m Going
- Where to Start
- Night Diving (New Feature Version)
- It’s Not Your Fault
- Take This Plane
- Hotel Bible
- Roses and Wolves (feat. Hailey Whitters)
- Won’t Let Me Go
- Azalea Place
- Love I Couldn’t Mend
- Freezing in November (Revisited)
- Night Diving
- Hindsight & Photographs
(Credit: Benjamin Edwards)
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 2.3M 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.
Within just a year of teaching himself to play guitar, the Nashville-based artist set off on a meteoric rise largely fueled by his breakout single “A Lot More Free”, a RIAA Gold-certified track whose explosive success includes peaking at #1 on the iTunes singles chart and earning him a #1 spot on Billboard’s Emerging Artists chart. Following the release of his widely lauded debut album Wandering, the Willfully Blind EP, and his acclaimed sophomore album Night Diving, the 23-year-old Oregon native continued his fast ascent to stardom and made his TV performance debut with an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show earlier this year, in addition to selling out his first-ever headline tour within just hours. Named a 2025 Artist To Watch by Amazon Music, Holler, and Country Now, McNown now embarks on a thrilling new chapter with Night Diving (The Cost of Growing Up): a 21-song powerhouse that shows the complete depth of his artistry like never before.
Watch “Better Me For You” performance on The Kelly Clarkson Show HERE / Watch Kelly Clarkson cover “A Lot More Free” HERE
One of the “brightest newly minted stars to come out of Nashville in recent years” (GRAMMY.com), McNown has impressively sold out every stop of his debut headline tour after spending the past year opening for stars like Wynonna Judd, Wyatt Flores, Michael Marcagi, Sam Barber, 502s, Corey Kent, Trampled by Turtles, JOSEPH, and more. McNown recently made his UK and European debut at C2C: Country to Country Festival in London, Berlin and Rotterdam and will be returning overseas for a headlining tour across the UK, the Netherlands, Germany and France in December. Full dates can be found below.
UK/EU TOUR DATES:
1st December – Dublin, Ireland – 3Olympia Theatre
2nd December – Glasgow, Scotland – Barrowland Ballroom
3rd December – Manchester, England – Albert Hall
5th December – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Melkweg
6th December – Hamburg, Germany – Fabrik
8th December – Paris, France – Alhambra
9th December – London, England – O2 Forum Kentish Town
www.maxmcnown.com | TikTok | Instagram | YouTube | Spotify