Lewis Capaldi has decided he’s taking a break from touring, announcing this week that he’s canceling all upcoming performances to focus on his mental health.
But, as witnessed over the weekend, the Scottish singer can rest assured that his fans are always behind him.
Capaldi, who recently announced he’s been diagnosed with Tourette’s syndrome, canceled three weeks of performances to “rest and recuperate” ahead of last weekend’s Glastonbury Festival, where he performed as the leader.
He performed through some of the early songs of this Glastonbury series. However, when his band started playing the hit song, “Someone You Love,” the Capaldi tics began to interfere with his performance and he was unable to sing parts of the ballad.
In an astonishing display of support, the crowd knew exactly what Capaldi needed at the time and began singing loudly word for word.
(Is someone chopping onions?)
When the song ended, he thanked the audience for their support, obviously very emotional.
“I am really sorry. You all showed up and my voice was really pounding,” he said. “We’ll play two more if it’s good, even if I can’t play all the notes. Glastonbury, I’m really sorry. I’m a little annoyed with myself.”
At the end of the film, Capaldi tells the crowd that he probably needs to take a break from public life for a while longer.
“I feel like I’m going to get another week off in the next few weeks. So you probably won’t see me much for the rest of the year, maybe even,” he said.
Lewis Capaldi performs during the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm, Somerset, England, Saturday, June 24, 2023.
Scott Garfitt / Invision / AP
“But when I come back and when I see you, I hope you stay awake to watch us.”
Capaldi often talks about his mental health struggles and how hard it is to fight for fame.
“When I had a panic attack, I felt like I was going crazy, completely disconnected from reality,” he said in a Netflix documentary about his life.
“I can not breathe. I couldn’t feel my breath coming in. I’m dizzy. I feel like something is wrong with my head. I sweat.
“What’s important to me with it is, now I’ll always feel like this, this is me.”
In an Instagram post on Tuesday, Capaldi thanked fans for the support at Glastonbury and announced that he would be taking a break from the tour “for the foreseeable future”.
“I used to be able to enjoy every second of shows like this and I hope the next three weeks will give me some relief. But the truth is that I am still learning to adapt to the effects of Tourette’s and on Saturday it became clear that I needed to spend more time adjusting to my mental and physical health, so that I could continue. Keep doing things you love for a long time. a long time to come,” he wrote.
“I am deeply sorry to everyone who had planned to come see a performance before the end of the year but I need to feel well to perform to the standard you all deserve. Playing for you every night is everything I ever dreamed of so this was the hardest decision of my life.”
Before the cancellation, Capaldi was scheduled to perform around the world from July to September, with the majority of concerts sold out.
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