Words: Dan Smith
Back in 2021, Sam Fender was propelled to superstardom seemingly overnight with his track ‘Seventeen Going Under’ going TikTok Viral. Due to this though, he has developed a huge, new fanbase who may be unaware of his medical history, and his habit of cancelling shows.
Towards the back end of 2024, Sam was once again venturing out on tour, but had to cancel the last few shows after damaging his vocal chords.
First of all, this was done just hours before his show in Glasgow, which obviously left fans heartbroken and frustrated. Looking through the comments of his announcement on X (previously Twitter) of the cancellations and people were angry… very angry. One reply, from @keithcookjourno read “Barely any notice??? Takes the p*ss a bit lad”. Another said “He really needs to plan tours better as this is a common occurrence. Two or three dates then a week or two rest then a few more dates.”
But if we look further back, and for us who knew Sam before his 2021 breakthrough, we all know this isn’t anything new for the North Shields artist.
But why does this keep happening? Today we are going to explore the ongoing issue with Sam Fender and cancelling gigs.
A LIFE-THREATENING ILLNESS
At the age of 20, Sam Fender (30) was diagnosed with a potentially life-threatening illness which caused the singer-songwriter to take 2 years away from the music industry. He later revealed he has a compromised immune system. For those who aren’t aware of what this means, a compromised immune system is a state in which the bodies immune system is unable to fight infectious diseases as well or in some cases at all. This makes Fender increasingly vulnerable to illness, which isn’t helped by him being in an industry which involves having hundreds or thousands of people surrounding him, potentially exposing him to disease or infection.
Now, the illness which caused Sam to face the actual possibility of death was also vital to his journey in the music industry, as it changed his whole outlook on life, his music and his writing. Shameless self-promotion time, you can hear more about this in our ‘Sam Fender: A Portrayal of Determination’ documentary below.
But this is where some of the frustration begins with Sam. He is aware of his frailties, and has been forced to cancel several shows, so why hasn’t he learnt or put plans in place to prevent this from happening again?
Gig Cancellations and Mental Health
Since breaking onto the scene with ‘Hypersonic Missiles’ in 2019, Sam has always had a reputation of cancelling shows. Towards the back end of 2019 he cancelled the remainder of his tour due to vocal chord issues, the same exact reason for his 2024 cancellations.
“Absolute nightmare, if I carry on I could haemorrhage my cords which would mean being out for months.” – Sam Fender on Instagram. 12/12/2019
His cancellation in London 2019 was just hours before he was due to take the stage, again prompting anger from fans.
Sam’s immune system issues continued to affect his touring. The Bristol and Birmingham shows scheduled for 5 and 6 December 2019 were postponed to January 2020 due to a “respiratory tract infection”. Despite this, both shows were cancelled again in January 2020, as Fender accumulated chest infections, laryngitis, and tonsillitis.
I won’t discuss the COVID-19 cancellations as these were out of Fender’s hands and due to his condition, it wouldn’t be fair for him to have put himself in such a vulnerable position.
Once the COVID waves had died down and music came back to life in 2021, Sam released ‘Seventeen Going Under’ and we are back where we started, with Sam being propelled to worldwide fame.
Then, in 2022, Sam stated he was feeling burnt-out and once again cancelled some upcoming shows, this time to focus on his mental health. The 28-year-old singer-songwriter from Newcastle posted the announcement on Instagram, saying it would be “completely hypocritical” of him to advocate for discussion of the topic without looking after his own mental wellbeing.
I can’t really grumble about someone putting their own mental health first, but the more concerning part is why is Sam getting so burnt-out from playing shows and touring.
Moving into 2025
Now before this script gets too long, we need to discuss what can be done to prevent this from happening again. But to do that, we need to ask why?
I think from the last 5/6 years, it is clear to see Sam is unable to tour like many bands without getting burnt-out mentally or physically. This isn’t a huge issue though if it is managed. Provide longer breaks between shows and don’t force as many dates into the tours. Yes this will leave fans wanting more, but like Sam said, he has to put himself first. And if he follows these two steps, hopefully it would prevent cancellations and letting down the people who have given him the platform he has.
My biggest concern, is that Sam is having little say and is being pushed into these tours. Surely they should have learnt by now, but as of December 2024 we are right back where we started, with gigs being cancelled hours before they started.
But what makes it worse this time, is that standing tickets to see him were over £80, and seating tickets ranged between £65.87 to £88.37. In a time were money is tight for so many of us, travel costs and accommodation is through the roof, we need the security and peace of mind that we will be able to see the artist we have paid so much to see, which unfortunately hasn’t been the case.
Yes, your ticket will be rearranged, but that doesn’t make up for the loss of other costs.
Fortunately for Sam, he is in a privileged position where this won’t be enough for his career to be completely destroyed, as he is of course a very talented individual who deserves his merit. But something does need to be done regarding his scheduling, because it is not fair for those who mean most… the fans.
What do you make of the Sam Fender cancellations? Let me know below.
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