Sam Fender cancels festival shows due to “frustrating” health scare
Sam Fender has been forced to take a 14-day break from singing due to suffering a vocal cord haemorrhage.
The singer, who recently performed an epic gig a the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, announced the unfortunate news on Instagram. He wrote, “Hey everyone, at the beginning of the week I got my voice checked by my ENT Doctor and the cords were slightly swollen. After a few days rest I was advised by my team that I was okay to perform.”
However, that would not be the case for long. He continued: “On stage at Silverstone I could feel that things were a lot harder than usual, I felt I needed to push a lot harder to sing, this is never a good sign. I’ve just been checked by my ENT again today, as I was concerned about it, and it’s transpired that I’ve had a haemorrhage on one of my vocal cords.”
He added: “This is incredibly frustrating as I have been so careful with my vocal health and this year so far has been the best of my career. I’ve been advised to be on vocal restriction and to not sing for the next 14 days.”
Though he wishes he could, the star clarified, “If I were to play at these next shows I would risk causing lasting damage to my vocal cords.” Consequently, his set appearances for Rock Werchter, Down The Rabbit Hole, NOS Alive, and Montreux Jazz Festival are now cancelled.
Fender didn’t take the news lightly, writing that he “hates letting people down.” On a personal level, he also admitted that he hates “not being able to sing for weeks as it is my only real passion in life.”
He signed off, “I hope that I’m able to make it up to you down the line, but until then I’m gonna work to get this voice fixed. Love from me and the band.”
Fender is currently in the middle of the biggest summer of his career. It has seen him perform in front of 80,000 fans at the London Stadium before returning home to Newcastle to complete three triumphant dates at St James’ Park, the home of his beloved Newcastle United FC. He has also officially released a new version of ‘Rein Me In’ with Olivia Dean.
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