Lewis Capaldi Announces He’s ‘Taking a Break From Touring for the Foreseeable Future’
Lewis Capaldi is taking a step back from the stage. The singer announced that he’s taking a break from touring in a message posted to Instagram on Tuesday (June 27).
The announcement comes just days after he struggled to finish his Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit “Someone You Loved” during his Saturday (June 24) set at the Glastonbury Festival. Fans helped him close out the song by lending their own voices.
“Thank you to Glastonbury for having me, for singing along when I needed it and for all the amazing messages afterwards,” the Grammy nominee began his message, which was posted in white text on a black background. “It really does mean the world.”
“The fact that this probably won’t come as a surprise doesn’t make it any easier to write, but I’m very sorry to let you know I’m going to be taking a break from touring for the foreseeable future,” he continued. “I used to be able to enjoy every second of shows like this and I’d hoped 3 weeks away would sort me out. But the truth is I’m still learning to adjust to the impact of my Tourette’s and on Saturday it became obvious that I need to spend much more time getting my mental and physical health in order so that I can keep doing everything I love for a long time to come.”
The 26-year-old singer-songwriter went on to apologize to fans who had planned to see him this year. “I need to feel well to perform at the standard you deserve,” he continued. “Playing for you every night is all I’ve ever dreamed of so this has been the most difficult decision of my life. I’ll be back as soon as I possibly can.”
Capaldi had been scheduled to play shows in Europe, Australia, Asia and more, with many of his concerts sold out. Prior to his Glastonbury show, he had announced on June 5 that he was canceling shows in Glasgow, Dublin, Norway and London to “rest and recover,” explaining that “the last few months have been full on both mentally and physically.”
The artist has previously been open about his struggle with Tourette’s syndrome, revealing his diagnosis in September. Months later, in April, Capaldi said in an interview with the U.K.’s The Times that he had been struggling with controlling his tics while performing, and that there may come a day when he’d quit music because of it.
“My tic is getting quite bad on stage now,” he said at the time. “I’m trying to get on top of that. If I can’t, I’m f–ked. It’s easier when I play guitar, but I hate playing guitar. I know, I’m a walking contradiction.”
Capaldi added: “But if it gets to a point where I’m doing irreparable damage to myself, I’ll quit. I hate hyperbole, but it is a very real possibility that I will have to pack music in.”
Read his message about taking a break from touring below:
Anna Chan
Billboard
