genre rock

It was a few weeks ago that Max McNown’s agents at Wasserman Music told the country upstart that his Feb. 11-12 sold-out Bowery Ballroom shows in New York City needed to move to accommodate another artist.

The agents, Jonathan Insogna and Lenore Kinder, initially pushed back against the highly unusual move until they discovered a few days later that it was because Sir Paul McCartney was playing surprise gigs at the 575-capacity room those nights. Ultimately, McNown’s management team, Live Nation, the Bowery and Wasserman quickly went into action to shift McNown’s two shows to the 1,200-capacity Irving Plaza in Union Square the same nights, and McNown ended up with an amazing story to tell.

When his agents were first asked to move the shows, “Honestly, we were a bit confused,” McNown tells Billboard. “My agent told me this was an unusual situation that a venue would ask you to move so we kind of knew there was something bigger going on, but our first response was, ‘I’m sorry you want us to do what?’”

Shortly thereafter, when he and his team put the pieces together to realize he was getting bumped for the legendary Beatle, it all made sense at that point. “Paul wanted to play in a smaller venue and make it special. We had sold out Bowery months ago, so moving into a bigger venue and being able to accommodate more fans was great for us. A win-win in every way,” McNown says, but joked, “I am disappointed we weren’t able to get him to open for us.”

Though McCartney’s team didn’t give a reason for the specific date, Feb. 11 marked the 60th anniversary of the Beatles’ first gig in the U.S at the Coliseum in Washington, D.C.

McCartney’s team was extremely gracious and did offer McNown tickets, but he was unable to go since he was doing his own shows a mile up the road. McNown admits he was tempted, though. “I honestly really wish I could have pulled it off” to go to McCartney’s show, he says. “I always say touring is a job and there were too many people counting on me to play my own show to skip out on it. But yes, the term ‘tempted’ is an understatement.”

The Oregon singer-songwriter, who was Billboard’s November Country Rookie of the Month and topped Billboard’s Emerging Artists chart, first hit the Hot Country Songs chart last year with “A Lot More Free,” which reached No. 29, as well as peaked at No. 15 on the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart. His new album, Night Diving, came out Jan. 24. His new single, “Brown Eyes (Better Me for You),” is at radio.

Though he’s only 23, McNown is a lifelong Beatles fan. “My elementary school teacher would always sing ‘Yellow Submarine,’ ‘Let It Be’ and ‘Hey Jude’ every single Friday in my fourth and fifth grade class,” he says. “He always felt it was important to keep the younger generations educated on the true icons of musical history. Because of him, I know every word to those songs, and each of them now hold a level of nostalgia in my heart that’s pretty unmatched.”

His favorite Beatles song is the gorgeous “Blackbird,” which McNown may, in homage to Sir Paul, now record and post on his Instagram, he says. “I discovered that song on my own after being introduced to [The Beatles’] music in school at a very young age, which made it extra personal/special for me.” He’s also a big fan of “Yesterday,” “Here Comes The Sun” and “Twist and Shout.”

Since attending the shows wasn’t possible, McNown would love some merch or even an autograph, he says, but he’ll settle for an amazing story of the night he was bumped for a Beatle. “It is definitely something I’m sure I’ll be talking about for some time,” he tells Billboard. “This last few years have felt like one dream sequence, from going viral, to Kelly Clarkson covering my songs and now swapping venues with a Beatle. It’s unbelievable.”  

Though McCartney is playing his third show at Bowery tonight, McNown couldn’t attend because he’s on his way to Boston for his show Friday night (Feb. 14).