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Sam Fender cancels tour dates to concentrate on his mental health

By | Published on Tuesday 13 September 2022

Sam Fender

Sam Fender has announced that he is “taking some time off the road” in order to focus on his mental health, telling fans that it has become “exhausting feigning happiness and wellness for the sake of business”.

The remainder of his US tour dates will now not go ahead, including a performance at Madison Square Garden in New York supporting Florence And The Machine this Friday.

“It seems completely hypocritical of me to advocate discussion on mental health and write songs about it if I don’t take the time to look after my own mental health”, he says in a statement. “I’ve neglected myself for over a year now and haven’t dealt with things that have deeply affected me. It’s impossible to do this work on myself while on the road, and it’s exhausting feigning happiness and wellness for the sake of business”.

“My friends and colleagues have been worried about me for a while and it’s not going to get better unless I take the time to do so”, he goes on. “I am eternally overwhelmed by the love and support of our fans and I hate to let you down, but the state of my wellbeing is starting to affect everything I do, including my performances. I refuse to go out there and not give it my all every time, as you all deserve nothing less”.

“As a result, I’m sadly going to have to take some time off the road”, he continues. “We are cancelling our three remaining headline shows in the US [and Canada] and pulling out of the shows with Florence And The Machine, as well as [the] Life Is Beautiful Festival [in Las Vegas]. I’m also especially sorry to everyone who’s been waiting for news on the rescheduled UK record store dates but the decision has been taken to cancel these shows (hopefully we can work something out for those ticketholders, you’ll hear from us soon) so I can come back stronger”.

Thanking fans for their understanding, he adds: “I can’t express how grateful we are to have such an awesome fanbase. I’ve met a fair few of you over the years and those encounters have genuinely restored my faith in humanity, you’re all sound as fuck. Me and the boys are burnt out and we need this time. Thank you for always sticking by us”.

He says that he plans to return to touring in November, with four dates in Australia. His two dates at Newcastle-Upon-Tyne’s St James Park in June next year are also unaffected.



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