Max Jackson talks FLAME Festival and living the dream
FLAME BBQ and Music Festival’s country music rising star Max Jackson is moving on out and moving on up, literally at the same time.
‘I’m actually doing the absolute worst job today and I’m moving house, so talking about FLAME Festival is such a nice break from this,’ Max laughs.
Aside from the challenges of moving day from her Newcastle home to a little further inland near Maitland, Max has so much to be happy about.
Her star keeps rising brighter each year in the country music scene, including highlights such as being crowned the 42nd winner of Toyota Star Maker, followed by becoming a social media starlet with more than 25 million views worldwide for showcasing iconic songs with a country twist.
In 2025 she’s also collected Golden Guitars from the Country Musical Awards of Australia for ‘Female Artist Of The Year’, New Talent Of The Year’ and ‘Single Of The Year’ for Little More Country. The next goal for Max is furthering her reach internationally.
She is still an Aussie homebody at heart though and, in terms of live performances, taking the stage as the major talent at this Saturday’s FLAME BBQ and Music Festival in Jimboomba Park on 13 September will be another highlight to add to Max’s cache of enjoyable gigs.
Her stopover in Logan for the annual FLAME Festival is between gigs at the Hobart Hoedown in Tasmania and the Deni Ute Muster in Deniliquin, New South Wales. There’s plenty more where that came from this year, from Broadbeach on the Gold Coast to Adelaide in South Australia, and more live dates to be added to her tour soon.
Jimboomba is also a place Max is especially looking forward to performing, for the FLAME Festival. ‘I’ve heard a bit about it and I’ve never been before, so I’m really excited to come and play,’ Max says.
‘I actually grew up in a small country town out in Coonamble in New South Wales, and obviously with community being a big part of small towns and being a big part of country music, for me, playing community events is always an absolute favourite.
‘I think these sorts of events have this energy that is really happy and exciting. We really love to put on our show for the whole family and make it fun and interactive and when it’s a community event, there’s lots of fun things happening.’
Standing on the stage in front of thousands is what Max has been working towards since her first professional gig at age 13. Now she is well and truly living that dream.
‘I feel like I’ve been doing this since I was a little kid, but I really do feel like over the last few years I’ve been able to achieve some of my absolute biggest goals and mostly my biggest goal is to tour and to play a lot.
‘Over the last year and a half or so we’ve probably played close to 150 shows – and that’s in 150 different towns!
ABOVE: Country music’s rising star Max Jackson is coming to Jimboomba for FLAME Festival.
‘So that is probably the biggest achievement for me because being a kid who grew up loving music and loving country music in particular, I know what it’s like to be an audience member and how much joy music can bring to the town or to the community.
‘So I feel grateful and lucky that I get to get up there and hopefully make someone’s day a whole lot happier and more exciting and, you know, bring a buzz to the community.
‘That’s probably the biggest goal – just being lucky enough to be able to play so many shows.’
Max looks forward to soaking up some of the FLAME Festival vibes. The country music lineup includes Logan’s own country music legend Jake Whittaker, who has also been touring Australia.
‘I’ve seen Jake perform before and he’s not only just a really lovely guy who we’re excited to catch up with again and around his hometown, but also, he is a great performer.
‘We might even be able to sneak in a song together or something like that to make it extra fun.’
FLAME Festival will also feature the region’s best barbecue treats, food trucks, markets and activities such as whip cracking, eating competitions and line dancing.
‘It’s going to be fantastic,’ Max says. ‘The boys in my band particularly will be the happiest that they’ve ever been while at work, so save some ribs for us!’
For event details and information on how to purchase tickets for the 13 September Festival, visit flamefestival.com.au.
To see Max Jackson’s shoutout video about FLAME BBQ & Music Festival, visit FLAME BBQ & Music Festival Jimboomba 2025: Max Jackson.
To read about country music artist Jake Whittaker also performing at FLAME BBQ & Music Festival 2025, visit Jake Whittaker home for FLAME Festival – Our Logan.
