Maxwell Sadler often feels that he is merely searching for understanding. Thus, he writes songs in an effort to make sense of the world around him. A reserved, yet dry demeanor and elegant storytelling are the marks of his performance, qualities that softly command a distracted audience to a quiet attention. He has a penchant for producing a serene, still silence out of the rowdy Nashville barrooms, using only a song.

Sadler is a lifelong musician and credits his fascination with the subject to his father, a career patent attorney and hobby pianist. Before he was able to walk, Sadler would listen to his father’s piano playing from the confines of his cradle. The improvised melodies and playful progressions leaped from the living room Kawai Baby Grand, and took root in Sadler’s soul. Perhaps equally inspired by his father and his own “Wiggles” toy guitar, Sadler picked out his first acoustic guitar at the age of four. Every subsequent Saturday, for 15 years, Sadler could be found at the local boutique, Mark’s Guitar Shop. He hung around throughout high school, unknowingly tuning the vintage guitars that his heroes – Joe Bonamassa, Eric Johnson, Myles Kennedy – would eventually buy when their tour came through town. In his spare time, he joined his high school’s token cover band. They named themselves Late for the Parade and performed at every event that would let the underage musicians in. With Late for the Parade, Sadler wrote and recorded two studio albums and led the band to a proverbial high, opening for Spokane-native, Allen Stone. This was Sadler’s first foray into songwriting and performing, and he had been hooked.

Convinced that show business was for him, Sadler packed his car to the ceiling with guitars, amplifiers, and a TV he’d stolen from his grandfather and drove for 5 days, until he hit Nashville. The next four years, he studied guitar and songwriting under Grammy-nominated Americana singer/songwriter, Thomm Jutz at Belmont University. While at Belmont, Sadler began releasing music under the name Maxwell & The Shakes. This band would go on to win Belmont’s 2023 “Country/Americana Showcase” and “Best of the Best,” a university-wide “battle of the bands-esque” competition. Soon after, the doors began to open; he was one of three acts considered to open for country singer Josh Turner. He made his Bluebird Café debut. Additionally, his songs enjoyed extensive independent radio play throughout the Pacific Northwest all before he graduated college in May of 2023. 

These days, when he is not writing and performing his own songs, Sadler works as the Musical Director, band leader, and guitarist for UMG recording artist Catie Offerman. Alongside Catie, Sadler has opened shows for some of country music’s biggest acts, like Parker McCollum, Ian Munsick, Ashley McBryde, and even George Strait himself. He has performed on every stage imaginable; from a homemade soundstage fashioned from an old shipping container to the legendary Grand Ole Opry. 

At just 23 years old, Sadler has accrued what feels like a lifetime of stories from the road – and he will often tell them through a mischievous grin, like that of a child who got away with hitting his baseball through the neighbor’s window. A flourishing musical career ahead of him, Sadler will continue to write and perform his songs with the hope that they will affect just one person, for a changed mind is more valuable than its weight in gold.