Sam Fender cancels upcoming US tour dates to “look after my own mental health”

nme.com:

Sam Fender has cancelled his remaining 2022 US tour dates to look after his mental health. Read his statement below.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.“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 wrote to fans via a post on Instagram.Fender continued: “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 went on to write 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.”A post shared by Sam Fender (@sam_fender)Outside of the US shows, he 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.”After sharing his plans to “come back stronger”, Fender mentioned his excitement for the Australian leg of his tour in late November, as well as the “fucking unbelievable” St James’ Park shows he’ll play in 2023.

Details and tickets for those dates can be found, here.Sam Fender has continued to advocate for mental health awareness through his music.