A Quick Chat with honestav
honestav is a viral alternative, genre-blending artist out of Missouri who writes raw, vulnerable songs shaped by some pretty heavy life experiences. honestav delivered a fully-realised body of work with his sophomore album Sweet American Boy on 19 June. Blending alternative rock, indie-folk, hip-hop, and pop influences throughout the album, the fast-rising artist showcases his eclectic musical palette across 16 tracks including 'Wasted', 'How I Got My Name', 'Believe', 'FKN Hate You', 'Bad Guy', ‘Crash First’ with mgk and the current focus track ‘Know Better’. In April this year, honestav supported mgk on his Australian and New Zealand tour and will return downunder in January for his debut headline tour across ANZ. Tickets available now here and selling fast!
Check out out chat with honestav below.
Sweet American Boy is finally out in the world — now that it's not just in your head anymore, how does it feel hearing people react to it, and has your own relationship with the songs changed at all since you finished making it?
Wow, that is an amazing question. Ever since Sweet American Boy has been released and it's not just been in my head anymore, it's felt amazing. It's felt different to any other project. And absolutely, the way it's been digested and the way people feel about certain songs has changed my mind about them, for sure.
I loved every one of these songs individually so much and put a lot into them. At first, I loved listening to them, but over time it took so long to get everything perfect. I'd listened to them so many times that I started to feel a little insecure about them, like maybe they weren't as good as I thought. But the way everyone has digested them has absolutely changed that point of view, and I'm so stoked that people like it. It's been the greatest thing ever!
The album moves between stripped-back acoustic moments and huge, explosive production. How do you decide which songs need to stay small and which ones need to blow up?
When you're choosing songs and you're choosing whether it needs to be an explosive song or whether it needs to be an acoustic, laid-back song, music is a feeling. I don't think you consciously choose, "Okay, this song needs to feel like this." I think whenever you're writing and expressing your emotion, sometimes the emotion is explosive and sometimes it's softer. I think the song does that itself. I don't think it's something a human chooses.
"Jacob's Song" sampling Blink-182's "Adam's Song" is a pretty bold choice — what's the story behind that, and what does that song mean to you personally?
I'm a huge Blink fan. Adam's Song is about the topic of suicide, so that's obviously something I'm passionate about and I've dealt with a lot in my life.
Honestly, that one just came naturally. I heard that guitar riff — it's not the exact same riff as Adam's Song, but it sounds very similar. Zan was playing that and I just sang, "I never thought I'd die alone," and rolled with it.
I wrote that song about being a kid while your parents are going through a divorce and fighting, and you go and stay at a family member's house. Jacob is the name of my cousin. He's the youngest boy — he's only six months younger than me — but we always act like he's the baby. He's my dog and I love him so much.
It's a story about growing up and things like that. Then the second verse is talking about self-struggle as an adult. That song is a journey and it means a lot to me. It was really cool that Blink let me sample it, and they had me donate the money I would've paid them to the Missouri Suicide Prevention Foundation.
The "Know Better" video is a one-shot following you alongside a younger version of yourself. What was it actually like filming that, and was there a moment on set that hit you harder than you expected?
It was a creative decision that people on my team, who I really, really trust, made and I didn't see the vision at first. During shooting, I still couldn't really see it and I was worried about that vision not coming across as creatively as I thought it was going to.
Whenever you create these things, you get so in your head because you know every detail. But whenever someone else is seeing it, it's strictly an emotion and they see what it's portraying to be seen. I forgot that.
When we dropped it and saw how it's been perceived, I was really proud of that video. It's sick. Looking back, the eating cereal scene and the way it relates to eating alone in real life is really cool. I also love the scene where it looks like I'm sitting next to my younger self because it literally looks just like me.
"Crash First" with mgk feels like the product of a real relationship, not just a feature. How did that song come together, and what's he taught you about being on the road?
BINGO! Yeah, that's exactly it. Crash First is the product of friendship and a real-life human moment, not just a Nashville writing session — no hate on Nashville!
It was just a moment we were having in the studio. You can hear it throughout the song. Even when we started getting hyped, we were tired of being sad and wanted to do something with more energy. It was just a real-life moment.
He's taught me a lot about being on the road. This guy works so hard. Whenever you're just a fan of somebody, you only see what the internet shows you and you perceive somebody a certain way. I see people perceive Kels and just get him so wrong. They think they know him, but they don't at all.
It really opened my eyes that if you want to be mgk, that's something you've got to be okay with. People say flat-out lies about him on the internet all the time and fully believe them, and it'll cause problems in his real life. The way he just jukes and jives and keeps moving is inspiring. It's taught me a lot, not just about being on the road but professionally in general.
You were out there on mgk's Lost Americana run through Australia and New Zealand earlier this year — what's the one moment from those shows that's stuck with you the most?
The moment that sticks out the most was when a video of me performing badly kind of went viral. I had a moment where I slipped up and messed up.
I told Kels the next morning and the way he was so light-hearted about it, saying, "Not only does it not matter what those people think, but use it as motivation to get better because you don't want to feel like this again," really stuck with me.
He sat me down and told me a lot about the stuff he goes through and it really gave me confidence, like an older brother. That always sticks out for me.
Going from opening arenas with mgk to headlining your own club shows here is a pretty different gear. What are you most looking forward to about playing these smaller, more intimate rooms?
I'm looking forward to it being my people again, man, and being 10 feet in front of people.
Being in an arena is amazing but it's not as personal. I might get a motherfucker's sweat on me at a club because I might jump into the crowd and sing with you. You can't do that in an arena.
I'm excited for it to be personal again. I can tell stories and I've got time. At the shows with Kels I only had 30 minutes and didn't get to tell stories or tell people how much I appreciate them like I like to do, so I'm excited to get back to that too.
The title Sweet American Boy carries a lot of weight given everything you've been through to get here. What does that phrase actually mean to you, and why was it the right title for this chapter of your story?
It's who I am, bro. Sweet American Boy just feels right.
You listen to the songs and I'm pouring my heart out. I'm talking about things that are really personal to me. Sometimes I'm doing that in an upbeat, fun way and sometimes I'm doing it over an acoustic guitar and it feels sadder. Either way, every single song is me pouring my heart out.
I'm finally starting to see the world. I never thought I'd get out of the state I live in, let alone the country. It just feels fitting because everywhere I go I carry that with me. Sweet American Boy is where I'm at in my life right now and where my music is at.
I came up with the title while I was in Canada. We were leaving Montreal and there was a group of people calling me "Sweet American Boy" and the homies were giving me shit for it on the bus. I was like, "That sounds like the name of an album." And that was it.
With Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Auckland on the run, is there anything you're already planning to do (or eat, or see) when you're back on this side of the world in January?
Yessir! I'm coming right back to Mr Wong's. I'm going to be there eating all the gambler's duck.
I can't wait to eat a Tim Tam because we have them in America but they're not the same. I can't wait to see my homie Grundy, who's an artist from there. I can't wait to get back to beautiful Sydney.
Australia is literally maybe the most beautiful place I've been to, and New Zealand too. They're both 10 out of 10. I just can't wait to get back into it. In New Zealand, I can't wait to get back into nature. It's going to be so much fun.
After a year of touring, a new album and now a return trip to Australia already locked in — what does success look like for you from here, and what do you want Sweet American Boy to give people who are seeing you live for the first time?
I want Sweet American Boy to give people hope. Not in a way that's like, "Oh my gosh, this is saving me," but in a way where people can look at what's going on. I'm from the middle of nowhere. This isn't supposed to happen.
I'm telling a real story about my life and people don't really do that anymore. People are really connecting with it and we're having a real-life moment between human beings. The more my music spreads and the more people connect with it, the bigger that moment becomes. It feels like we're coming together. It's a real human thing and I think a lot of things at the moment don't feel like that.
Success to me? Yeah... I need 30 million monthly listeners on Spotify. That's my next goal! Haha!
Honestav – Sweet American Boy Australian Tour 2027
Sat 16 Jan 2027 – The Rechabite – Perth, WA
Mon 18 Jan 2027 – 170 Russell – Melbourne, VIC
Wed 20 Jan 2027 – Liberty Hall – Sydney, NSW
Thu 21 Jan 2027 – The Triffid – Brisbane, QLD
Sat 23 Jan 2027 – The Tuning Fork – Auckland, NZ
Tickets on sale now
