Lewis Capaldi reveals he'll be taking more time off following heartbreaking Glastonbury performance

Hold us while we wait for news about Lewis Capaldi’s upcoming New Zealand shows. 

The Scottish singer’s health appears to have taken a heartbreaking turn over the weekend after he was seen struggling through his Glastonbury set. 

Now, mere weeks before his Auckland and Wellington shows, speculation has started to rise over whether or not the star will cancel his upcoming concerts. 

Capaldi made headlines this weekend after things took an emotional turn during the second half of his set at the iconic British music festival. 

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Battling through losing his voice and a great deal of ticks, after recently being diagnosed with Tourette’s, the star profusely apologised to the crowd before revealing he is planning to take some more time off to allow himself time to “rest and recover”. 

During the set, the star told fans, “I wanted to come back and do Glasto because it’s so incredible, so I just wanna thank you for coming out and watching us. I was s*** scared but you’ve really made me feel at ease. I’m really sorry — I hope the Eavises will have me back even though it’s been a bit of a s*** show.” 

He added, “I feel like I’ll be taking another wee break for the next few weeks. You might not see me even for the rest of the year, but when I do come back and I do see you, I hope you’re up for watching.” 

It comes after he revealed with a post on Instagram that he was cancelling upcoming shows in Glasgow, Dublin, London and Norway. He said in the statement, “This is a really difficult message, and one that hurts me a lot to have to type, but I’m really sorry to say that I’m going to have to cancel all commitments from now until I play Glastonbury on June 24th.” 

He went on to say he needed time to “rest and recover” and empathetically said “I know many of you will have spent money on travel or hotels, which I appreciate more than ever with how difficult things are economically at the moment, so I’m extremely sorry for the impact this will have. The fact you’re willing to come out and spend your time, money and love on these shows is beyond comprehension and I feel incredibly lucky.” 

He signed off by saying, “I take none of this for granted and can’t wait to be back doing it again.” 

The 26-year-old has not yet confirmed whether he will continue his world tour which is set to see him perform in the UK, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. 

The Herald has approached Live Nation for comment. 

Capaldi revealed on Instagram in September last year that he had been diagnosed with Tourette syndrome and has continued to open up about the difficulties he has faced as his symptoms get worse. 

In an interview with The Sun in April, he upsettingly confessed fame has made his condition worse and heightened his onstage tics. He told the publication “It’s a very real possibility” he will have to quit making music and admitted that while he enjoys the “privilege and luxury” that comes with his job, he said “if it got to a point where my quality of life was drastically diminished, I’d just have to quit”. 

Shortly after the interview, he sat down with Apple Music in May, and again hinted that he was going to be stepping away from his music career. 

“I’ll take a few panic attacks and my Tourette’s and stuff for what’s happening, but if it gets to the point where things get worse mentally and I stop looking after myself in that regard, I think that would be a point where I’d be like, ‘I’m just not going to do this anymore’,” he said. 

Capaldi recently appeared in a Netflix documentary titled How I’m Feeling Now, to give fans insight into his condition. During the documentary, he said his twitches are at times accompanied by panic attacks in which he “can’t breathe, I can’t feel breath going in. I get dizzy, I feel like something’s happening in my head and I’m sweating. ... My whole body starts to do what my shoulder does and I’m convulsing. Either I feel like I’m going to be stuck like that forever or I’m going to die”. 

The singer wouldn’t be the first to cancel shows due to his health. Justin Beiber also cancelled parts of his world tour after he was diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt syndrome. 

At the time, he told fans he needed to prioritise his health, saying, “I’m going to be ok, but I need time to rest and get better.” Bieber was due to perform in NZ on December 7, 2022. 

Prior to confirmation, he was cancelling his tour, he released a statement on his social media accounts telling fans, “Earlier this year, I went public about my battle with Ramsay-Hunt Syndrome, where my face was partly paralysed. 

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“As the result of this illness I was not able to complete the North America leg of the Justice Tour. After resting and consulting with doctors, family and team, I went to Europe in an effort to continue with the tour.” 

Bieber continued, “I performed six live shows but it took a real toll on me. This past weekend I performed at Rock in Rio and I gave everything I have to the people in Brazil. After getting off stage the exhaustion overtook me and I realised that I needed to make my health a priority right now. So I’m going to take a break from touring for the time being. 

“I’m going to be OK but I need time to rest and get better. I’ve been so proud to bring this show and our message of justice to the world. Thank you for your prayers and support throughout all of this exclamation point I love you all passionately!” 

This article was first published by the NZ Herald and is republished here with permission.