Lewis Capaldi has just cancelled all his upcoming New Zealand tour dates, and we’re just as gutted as you!
The Scottish singer-songwriter has just announced on his socials that he’s taking a much-needed break from touring “for the foreseeable future” to rest and recover after his Tourette syndrome has caused some struggles while performing.
In the heartfelt note, Capaldi wrote: “I’d hoped having a 3-week break would be enough of a rest to get me through the rest of the shows this summer which I was really looking forward to, but I knew the moment I got in the car down to play this Saturday that I need to spend much more time getting my mental and physical health in order to be able to carry on doing everything I love for a long time.”
He added that learning to adjust to the impacts of his Tourette Syndrome has been difficult.
“For the moment I’ll need to make some difficult decisions to work out what works best for me, I’m under absolutely no illusions whatsoever that I’m incredibly fortunate to be able to take this moment when others may not.”
He continued: “I’m so very lucky to have an amazing family, friends, team and medical professionals around me who have all been so supportive at every single step of the way through the good times and like right now the most difficult of times. I want to thank them and thank all of you also for the outpouring of support and encouragement through everything and even more so these past 12 months when I’ve needed it more than ever.”
“Again I’m so incredibly sorry for all of you who had planned to come to a show over before the end of this year but now is the time to properly focus on being well to give me any chance at being able to get back to doing what I love so much. Playing these shows every night is all I’ve ever dreamed of so it’s been the most difficult realisation of my life that right now I have to pause for a moment,” Capaldi added.
Leighton Clarke aka Uncle Tics and The Edge Breakfast’s Clint Randell also caught up with Capaldi on a recent episode of the Rova ‘Tic-Heads’, where the singer opened up about his scariest moment with Tourette's.
While it’s incredibly sad that this means he will not be making his way to our shores here in NZ, it’s good to hear that Capaldi is taking the time to focus on his mental health.
The news comes after Lewis previously mentioned a potential break while performing at Glastonbury festival over the weekend.
The singer apologised towards the end of his set: "I feel like I’ll be taking another wee break for the next few weeks, you might not see me for the rest of the year. But when I do come back, and I do see you, I hope you’re up for watching."
Capaldi's cancelled performances include his sold-out shows at Auckland’s Spark Arena on Tuesday, July 18th and Wellington’s TSB Arena on Wednesday, July 19th.
