Max Calkin is a Musician of New York.

Hailing from a small town in New Hampshire, Max Calkin moved to New York to study music in college. A bassist who plays both electric and upright bass, Max has toured with rock bands and enjoys living in a city where he can perform gigs in a variety of genres. He played bass during the entire run of the Broadway revival of Cats before it closed at the end of 2017. Living in an apartment with four other musicians, the creativity rarely stops for Max; in his spare time, he jams with his roommates in their basement and records tracks.

“I feel lucky to have been set up so well for Cats with a path that brought me through all these different genres – pop, rock, jazz, classical. Playing in the pit of Cats totally opened my mind to the reasons we play music at all, because the show is all about the meaning of happiness and reflecting on your life. Maybe up until then I didn’t realize how big of an impact music can have: music can change the world, music can bring people together, music can paint your atmosphere. Suddenly I was playing in Cats, 1,500 people a night, preaching the meaning of happiness to them through my bass-playing.” #MusiciansofNY

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#MusiciansofNY tells the stories of the working union musicians of New York, with posts about a new musician every Wednesday! Find more Musicians of New York stories here.