Hot off his headlining gig at the Glastonbury Music Festival on Saturday, June 24, Lewis Capaldi announced he won’t be returning to the stage any time soon.
“The fact that this probably won’t come as a surprise doesn’t make it any easier to write, but I’m very sorry to let you know I’m going to be taking a break from touring for the foreseeable future,” the “Before You Go” singer, 26, wrote in an Instagram statement on Tuesday, June 27.
Capaldi was scheduled to play over 20 shows across Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, the Philippines, South Korea, Iceland, the U.K., Spain, Germany, Greece, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates through the end of October. He released his sophomore album, Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent, last month.
Having recently taken a three-week break from performing ahead of his Glastonbury appearance, Capaldi hoped the hiatus would help “sort me out.” He went on to explain that he’s “still learning to adjust to the impact of my Tourette’s [syndrome] and on Saturday it became obvious that I need to spend much more time getting my mental and physical health in order, so I can keep doing everything I love for a long time to come.”
The Scotland native revealed he was diagnosed with the nervous system disorder — which, according to Mayo Clinic, sees people experience repetitive movements or unwanted sounds, a.k.a. tics, that can’t be easily controlled. While performing his song “Someone You Loved” at the U.K. musical festival on Saturday, Capaldi lost his voice and asked to crowd to help him finish singing the 2019 track.
One fan praised the Grammy nominee for his honesty and the crowd for supporting him. “As his Tourette’s overwhelmed him, and he needed a break thousands of voices lifted him up,” the Twitter user wrote on Sunday, June 25. “I feel something akin to a religious experience hearing them sing. The effect on Lewis Capaldi must have been profound. You don’t even have to like the song to get choked up. Beautiful.”
Another fan called the performance “brilliant” in another Sunday tweet, adding, “Even though he knows he’s struggling, he still goes on the stage & that takes true courage.”
In his Instagram message, Capaldi noted that he’s “incredibly fortunate to be able to take some time out when others can’t,” before thanking his “family, friends, team, medical professionals and all of you who’ve been so supportive every step of the way through the good times and even more so during this past year when I’ve needed it more than ever.”
He wrapped up his post by apologizing to fans who planned to attend any upcoming show, explaining, “I need to feel well to perform at the standard you all deserve.”
Capaldi concluded: “Playing for you every night is all I’ve ever dreamed of so this has been the most difficult decision of my life. I’ll be back as soon as I possibly can. All my love, always, Lewis x.”
The “Wish You the Best” singer previously opened up about his Tourette’s syndrome in a September 2022 Instagram Live session, revealing that he got Botox in his shoulder to help prevent it from twitching. While “it worked for a bit,” Capaldi noted, “When I’m excited I get it, when I’m stressed I get it, when I’m happy I get it. It happens all the time.”
Despite his diagnosis, the BRIT Award winner said at the time that he was feeling “healthy as f—k.”
