INTERVIEW - "There's No Dream That's Too Big": Cash Honey Shoots for the Stars

Rock and roll gets a bewitching, queer-femme rebrand

ATL rock outfit Cash Honey (Photo by Mikey Smith)

July 2024 marked the first time I ever camped out for a show.

Jack White. Terminal West. Sold out. A handful of student tickets at the door.  

My brother and I sat in the scorching Atlanta heat for three hours, fingers crossed and foreheads dripping as we prayed to make it inside. During our time on the sidewalk, we met Schuyler Heflin. A fellow musician and music nerd, she became a fast friend. We miraculously got our tickets, exchanged contact info, and kept in touch.

.

Later, we discovered Heflin had joined a band. Cash Honey graced our ears and Instagram feeds as they started making their mark in the local scene. The group consisted of the ever-talented Sophie Simpson (lead singer/guitar/keys), Ashton May (guitar/vocals/keys), Airis Broughton (drums/vocals), Shannon McNairy (bass), and Schuyler Heflin (guitar). After we attended their very first Atlanta show in March, it was evident that this band was far from ordinary—they were golden.

After months of scheduling and rescheduling (rockstar life keeps these ladies booked and busy!), the stars aligned and Art Seen ATL finally got the chance to catch up with Cash Honey. On an abnormally warm December day, we meandered through historic Oakland Cemetery and discussed paying tribute to the greats, taking up space, and dreaming big.

The bandmates’ musical history intertwined and overlapped long before Cash Honey was even an idea. “Airis and I were in a band together like 15 years ago,” May explained. Their group, Suspect Raptor, played in Atlanta and Athens for several years before disbanding. When she was finally ready to launch Cash Honey, May enlisted Broughton as the drummer and second official member of the band. “I always said I’m not going to get with another band unless it’s all girls,” Broughton shrugged. “It just so happened to work out, and I was down 100%.”

May continued to work her musical Rolodex for more members, soon landing on her School of Rock coworker McNairy. A wise choice, indeed—she’s a brilliant multi-instrumentalist that knows how to pack a punch. Though May first knew her as a drummer, McNairy’s passion for bass resulted in her current role in the band.

In a different part of town, Simpson and Heflin played together in another project. Despite a tense and tumultuous conclusion, the duo agreed they should continue working with each other after the band fizzled out. May recruited Simpson, who recruited Heflin, and the Cash Honey lineup was complete.

Sonically, Cash Honey is classic, good-old-fashioned rock and roll with a sprinkle of garage rock. Right out the gate, legends like Led Zeppelin, The Black Keys, and Jack White (obviously) were cited as inspirations. Heflin added Queens of the Stone Age and Paramore to the list, and May noted that the Yeah Yeah Yeahs were one of her earliest songwriting guides. “I feel like if you took all of those influences and then just made them really feminine and really sexy, that's us,” Simpson winked.

Rock and roll has been persistently written off as a masculine genre. A quick history lesson and a bit of common sense will tell you that’s far from true (McNairy summed it all up in four simple words: “F--k the patriarchy, man”), but these misconceptions have resulted in Cash Honey having to carve out a space for themselves. Most times, they share the stage with “straight white man” acts. Make no mistake: the band has received infinite love and support from their bill-mates, but they still find that some audiences are slower to warm up than others. “So many people are surprised, which I feel like some people can find a little bit insulting, but also really validating and cool,” Heflin clarified. “We do make music catered towards a certain audience, but we also have something for everyone. The old heads and rock and roll purists [...] that don’t even understand the lyrics we’re singing about are like ‘Holy sh-t, this rips.’” Broughton chimes in: “Even if you don’t know what we’re saying, we rock hard, and it hits.”

Not only are they a femme-fronted group in a predominantly male world, but all five members of Cash Honey identify as queer. This adds yet another layer of complexity to an already multifaceted band. “There’s been a ton of queer groups throughout history, but for one reason or another, their voice was kind of stamped down or muted,” May said. “It’s a unique position that we’re in to kind of have both, especially because we all are [queer]. It’s our whole focus.” Simpson came out about a year before the band started, meaning the songs she wrote for Cash Honey were some of the first art she made knowing she was a gay woman. “Being able to have a space to process that, to embrace it and celebrate it, and then share it has been really awesome as someone who personally is writing lyrics,” she shared. “I hope that it comes across to other people in whatever phase of their queerness that they're on.”  Their music comes in stark contrast to the “veiled,” oft-gender-swapped lyrics from queer acts of yesteryear, as pointed out by May. Cash Honey is fortunate enough to live in a time where they’re able to be “pretty obvious” with the subjects of their singing, a blessing they strive to never take for granted.

In Heflin’s words, Atlanta is a double-edged sword for local musicians. On one side, living in such a large market means that small bands have to compete with larger acts for venue space. On the other hand, this struggle for the spotlight has resulted in a sense of unity with other local artists. COVID made it difficult to draw audience to shows, but Cash Honey has found that the shared “relentless passion” among local groups has created a cycle of support, hype, and camaraderie. “We band together a lot to really push people to come out to these shows so that we can prove to the venues that it's worth it to book us as well,” May nodded. Furthermore, the band recognized the special opportunities they get living in a city like ours. Though some national acts tend to overshadow Greater Atlanta groups, others are kind enough to elevate local artists when they come through town. On Halloween, Cash Honey had the opportunity to open for fellow queer rockers Weakened Friends during their ATL stop. Weakened Friends previously opened for Jack White, and Heflin views the newly forged connection as a hopeful “stepping stone”: “[We’re opening] for bigger and bigger acts, and eventually we could be the people that other people are opening for.”

Even as they grow, Cash Honey remains true to themselves. All five women carry an intense zeal for music as a whole in addition to their personal craft. They gushed over artists of all shapes, sizes, and genres, reflecting the multidimensional nature of the group. Simpson enjoys the likes of Florence + The Machine, The Last Dinner Party, and Florence Road (she’s catching the latter two in June). Broughton’s a diehard fan of Queens of the Stone Age, but she also jammed to Cardi B’s newest album on the way to the shoot. May’s found herself immersed in the alt-country world of Sierra Ferrell (“she is such a goddess”) and Tyler Childers, and McNairy is the group’s resident Rage Against The Machine expert.

When Heflin mentioned ATL rockstar Beau Anderson, the band went nuts—they weren’t kidding about that local hype cycle they mentioned earlier. “I am that man’s number one listener on f--king Airbuds,” Heflin shouted, referring to the popular streaming stats app. “This f--king song ‘Talk Talk Talk,’ I’ve probably listened to it 40 times in the past two weeks.” Cash Honey expressed hope of playing with Anderson again, and Heflin gave another shoutout to local legends Intension: “They’re genuinely some of the nicest f--king people I’ve met, and that new album is so good.”

As they ricochet back and forth listing artists, you get a real taste of just how much Cash Honey cares about the art. They ooze confidence, but there’s not an ounce of ego—they’re true cheerleaders, genuinely rooting for the success and growth of those around them.

With a new year on the horizon, Cash Honey shared their aspirations for 2026. They’re playing Stay Dead Fest at Ciné in Athens on January 17th, and a single release show is in talks for first quarter. The band is anticipating a writing-heavy year, ready to share fresh tunes in addition to their upcoming releases. McNairy’s New Year’s wish? Pursuing music full-time. The band echoes in agreement, with Simpson “manifesting” hopes of a tour. Whether it’s weekend shows or a longer stint out of town, the band hopes to hit the road and share their stuff with other cities. Additionally, May floats the idea of playing a large-scale festival. Cash Honey came close as finalists in the SweetWater 420 Fest’s Battle of the Bands this spring, and the experience only pushed them further towards their vision. “There's no dream that's too big,” Heflin affirms. “There's no goal that’s too big or too unobtainable.”

Regardless of what the future has in store, Cash Honey has no plans of slowing down. They may be fairly new in the game right now, but I have a hunch that it won’t be long before they’re fully launched into stardom. These five souls stumbled into something magical, and one can only imagine where they’ll be when we meet again.

Article by Olivia Smith. Photos by Mikey Smith. Please credit @mts2.photo or @art.seen.atl if reposting on social media.