Sam Fender has cancelled his remaining 2022 US tour dates to look after his mental health. Fender was set to perform in Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver later this month, along with supporting Florence And The Machine at New York City’s Madison Square Garden and a festival set at Las Vegas’ Life Is Beautiful. Below is his statement in full.
He wrote on his Instagram page “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, 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.”
He then continued to say that he was “eternally overwhelmed by the love and support of our fans and hate to let you down, but the state of my wellbeing is starting to affect everything I do, including my performances [and] I refuse to go out there and not give it my all EVERY time, as you all deserve nothing less.” You can view the post below.
Fender has always advocated for mental health awareness in his music. He also spoke to NME in 2018 about the mental health struggles tackled in his single, “Dead Boys”. He stated “I remember specifically for me as a kid growing up or as a young teenager if I ever cried or got upset in front of anybody, I would be so humiliated,” he said. “I’d be so angry with myself for being upset and then it would just become this catch 22 situation.”
The musician then added “It’s that attitude that stops men from talking and stops men from being like able to turn to each other. Me and my mates are very, very close. We all talk about our problems – especially as we’ve got older. But I don’t think a lot of people have that. Men just need to be open and not emasculate one another.”
As well as the US shows, the Geordie musician said that UK record store dates will be cancelled for the time being, but that “hopefully we can work something out for those ticket holders, you’ll hear from us soon.”
Fender said he will “come back stronger” and mentioned his excitement for the Australian leg of his tour in late November, as well as the St James’ Park shows he’s set to play in 2023. The details and tickets for those dates can be found, here. He also recently announced details of his Live From Finsbury Park album, which will be released on December 9.
