Born from a desire to inspire, The Honest Youth (THY) have been making their way around the country in a restored Bailey caravan – providing an innovative way of enjoying and creating music.
Founder, George Carson, launched THY back in 2015 after having to rethink his dreams of owning his own bar. Following a long, hard graft saving enough money to buy a venue, he realised he didn’t quite fancy being tied down.
So, in 2017 he used the savings to buy an old caravan instead – transforming it into a little pop-up festival stage, offering the ideal music venue for any occasion complete with sound-system, lighting and (perhaps most importantly) a fully-stocked bar with beer pumps.
Soon enough, THY were getting hired to do small local festivals and events. They even got to host Blossoms’ ‘Cool Like You’ album signing which George says was a pinnacle moment.
Then came lockdown.
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But not all was lost. Over the past year, George has been able to put the caravan to good use to keep spirits up at home.
“In the caravan we would have people round on a winter night, wrap them in fairy lights and have mini gigs on my drive,” George told us.
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“I have such good memories of this time. Everything was so new and exciting the talent was unreal and I wouldn’t have to pack up and drive home so I could have a drink with everyone and relax.”
The Honest Youth stage
As so many of us found ourselves with a little extra time throughout the pandemic, George used it to develop and future-proof his THY concept.
He admits the journey hasn’t been easy. George had to hone and grow his skills from starting as a bartender to becoming a jack of all trades.
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Now, THY is on a new venture to offer a mobile recording studio. With the hire comes delivery, set-up, PA, equipment and live sound engineering. It’s the full package – and for a very reasonable price, too – starting from just £70.
“I took to the opportunity this year to adapt my skills and equipment and start doing mobile recordings,” George said.
“Really, my goal has always been to surround myself with creative people learn from some maybe teach some others.
“I have learned so much – I thought this would be easy. ‘Build it and they will come’. I started almost 10 years ago as an experienced barman looking to open a bar and since I have had to become a sound engineer, a joiner, an advertiser, a roadie, a cameraman, an accountant, a cleaner, the list goes on – I just need to learn how to be a businessman now.”
Not only does THY allow George to fulfil his own career ambitions, but it provides musicians all over the city with the opportunity to create music wherever they are. Be that in their living room, a field or by the beach.
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George says the studio aimed at people like him – people who are bored of stuffy and windowless studios and rehearsal rooms and for people who get to the studio and their mind goes blank with a lack of creativity.
By taking the studio to wherever people want, he wants musicians to feel comfortable and inspired by their surroundings. So, he’s created a space that adapts and works for everyone.
“There is a big thing in recording where people are judged by the size of their desk and equipment and it’s easy to think that the million-pound studio will get the best from your song because they have it all.
“But studios are like hairdressers sometimes. You can go in, tell them everything you want and get the same short back and sides as the five people before you. You want to find the one that will listen to you create something with you and share the passion you have for your own music.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CNHpPcChTQ3/
George wants anyone who is considering hiring THY studio to just get in touch for a chat. Over the years, he’s spent too much of his own time deliberating over lyrics he’s written, too scared to perform them for fear of someone telling him he’s got it all wrong.
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“If you have a passion for something that’s sick, even if you just have a few lyrics written down and no idea how you want it to sound, or if you don’t play any instruments or are just sick of the same four chords on every song, just ping us on Facebook or Instagram.
“I love what I do – and the advice is always free. A lot of music is deeply personal to people and sharing can be difficult. I have written some dreadful songs, but there is no right and wrong in music.
“So, don’t be shy!”
Find more information about hiring The Honest Youth studio or pop-up venue via their website.
Music
Neil Young U-turns on Glastonbury drop-out after being confirmed as festival headliner
Danny Jones
Barely a beat or two after having seemingly dropped out of the festival, Neil Young has now U-turned on Glastonbury 2025 and now looks set to be headlining it.
Thelegendary musician called out the world-renowned music festival for being under “corporate” control at the whim of the BBC (its official media and broadcasting partner for nearly 30 years) and said he would no longer be playing his slot.
Young went so far as to call it a “corporate turn-off”, claiming the event is “not how I remember it” in a message on his website.
However, just a few days after posting the news, it now appears as though the Canadian singer-songwriter will still be playing Glastonbury – and not just as one of the multiple legends lined up for 2025 either, but as a headliner.
Neil Young is now seemingly headlining Glastonbury 2025. (Credit: Screenshot via Neil Young Archives)
As you can see in the update shared on Friday, 3 January, the 79-year-old now claims there was an “error” in the information he received regarding his performance at the festival.
Having now cleared up whatever confusion occurred, he and his band the Chrome Hearts will in fact be playing the festival as planned, reiterating his long-lasting love for the festival.
Quite a far cry from the sentiment he seemed to be getting across in his previous post, but make of that what you will.
Furthermore, chief organiser Emily Eavis – whose parents Michael and Jean Eavis set up the first ever Glastonbury music festival back in 1970 – not only hopped on social media to confirm that ‘Shakey’ will be performing but that he will be headline the main Pyramid Stage.
“Neil Young is an artist who’s very close to our hearts at Glastonbury”, she wrote, adding: “He does things his own way and that’s why we love him.”
So has he been given a slot upgrade of sorts or what? It still remains a little unclear.
At present, Rod Stewart is set to play the iconic and outright ‘Legends’ slot during Sunday teatime this June. We likely won’t hear much else about the rest of the lineup until sometime in spring.
This, of course, isn’t the first time Neil Young has done a 180 following a well-publicised decision in protest against a big media company.
The music veteran famously removed all of his discography from Spotify for two years before it eventually reappeared back in March 2024.
As for whatever happened between him and the festival or whether this was some gamesmanship from the influential music icon, at the end of the day, he’s heading to Worthy Farm after all.
Neil Young pulls out of ‘corporate controlled’ Glastonbury Festival
Danny Jones
Music icon Neil Young has pulled out of Glastonbury Festival 2025 after claiming it has lost its identity and is now under “corporate” control.
The 79-year-old singer-songwriter, widely considered one of the greatest and most influential to have ever lived, was due to play the festival as one of the legends named on this year’s lineup.
However, despite lots of excitement around the veteran being given the nod over others from what has largely been seen as a pop-leaning pool (at least according to the detractors) in recent years, Young has now decided to drop out of the festival.
Neil Young’s latest ‘NYA Times Contrarian’ post explains the decision to drop out of Glastonbury.Neil Young in 2023 Credit: Screenshot (via Neil Young website)/Per Ole Hagen (via Flickr)
“The Chrome Hearts and I were looking forward to playing Glastonbury, one of my all-time favourite outdoor gigs”, it reads. “We were told that BBC was now a partner in Glastonbury and wanted us to do a lot of things in a way we were not interested in.”
For context, the BBC has been partnered with Glasto since way back in 1997 and Neil Young has already headlined the festival back in 2009, so this shouldn’t exactly come as a surprise.
“It seems Glastonbury is now under corporate control and is not the way I remember it being. Thanks for coming to us the last time!”, he continues. “We will not be playing Glastonbury on this tour because it is a corporate turn-off, and not for me like it used to be.”
The message concludes with him hoping to catch fans at other venues and a simple “LOVE Neil – Be well”, but the tenor of the somewhat abrupt update is that the ever-opinionated and long-celebrated protest song-writer clearly believes the BBC‘s influence over the festival has now grown too strong.
Known not only as ‘Shakey’ and the ‘Godfather of Grunge’ but as one of the pioneering anti-establishment figures of a generation, the Canadian was previously in the headlines for demanding Spotify remove his music after taking issue with Joe Rogan’s anti-vax messaging on his show.
All that to say, the solo artist co-founding member of supergroup, Buffalo Springfield, is no stranger to taking on big business and companies if he feels he has good reason. Meanwhile, Rod Stewart will be performing in the coveted ‘Legends’ headliner slot at teatime on Sunday, 29 June.
Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts are looking set for a European tour this summer but if he’s taking on corporations and concerts under umbrella control, it seems unlikely we’ll see him at too many festivals or the likes of Co-op Live.
The better question is: do you agree – has Glastonbury Festival become too corporate and sanitised, or do you think it still upholds the same core values it had when it first popped up on Worthy Farm in 1970?
Hannah Starkie -
16th April 2021 
