Why has Lily Allen’s North American tour been downsized?
When released last October, Lily Allen‘s fifth album, West End Girl, caused a huge sensation.
A reflection on her marriage to actor David Harbour and its collapse, West End Girl dissected themes of domesticity, marriage, monogamy versus nonmonogamy and ultimately, disloyalty. Given the famous stature of both Allen and her ex-partner, the album was near-destined to be tabloid fodder, but beyond this, it became an anthemic collection for any listener who was still mourning a betrayal.
Allen took West End Girl on tour, and after her initial run of North American tour dates in support of the album this spring, she will be returning to the United States and Canada for planned shows in September, initially scheduled for arenas.
“I am so beyond excited to bring West End Girl back across the pond this September!!” Allen wrote in a statement, shared on social media on July 13th, “It has been so surreal playing this album to such epic crowds this summer. Thank you for singing every word with me.” Then, she elaborated that “some adjustments” would be made to the tour, namely that five dates would be hosted at smaller venues, and one would be cancelled entirely.
“We have a few updates since we first announced this leg of tour earlier in the year,” Allen continued in her statement, “I am SO excited to say we are now coming to Seattle, tickets on sale July 24, 10am local. For Philly, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Vancouver, we’ve had to make some adjustments. If you’ve already bought tickets to these shows, you will be refunded in 5–7 working days and automatically entered into a presale that goes live July 22, 10am local. General on sale will go live July 24, 10am local. Montreal, I am so sad to say we tried our hardest but will not be able to make it to you this time. NY, Boston, Toronto, Detroit, Minneapolis, Red Rocks, you are staying as is. Tickets on sale now :))”
The downsizing from arenas to theatres and amphitheatres is surprising, especially given the phenomenon that West End Girl and its subsequent tour have caused, not to mention that the first part of her tour was a massive success. By all accounts, the tour is often likened to a one-woman Broadway show, where Allen performs West End Girl from beginning to end, with no other inclusions from her discography nor with any communication with the audience, for just over an hour.
Where she has received questions and/or criticism for this approach to her tour, and has defended her artistic choices, there has been an overwhelm of praise. Evidently, her leaning into the theatrical side of her storytelling has worked, elevating West End Girl and all of its deeply personal contents to the level of a stage performance. She has, effectively, curated an art form of her own.
The curiosity as to why dates of Allen’s tour have been downsized may be inevitable, but not entirely uncommon. As of late, tours have been cancelled entirely for a number of reasons, from the so-called ‘Blue Dot Fever’ that comes as a result of low ticket sales to the rising costs of putting together a tour to begin with, which turns any effort at going on the road into a gamble. For Allen, the decision to move to smaller venues for certain dates is not an indicator of any sort of ‘failure’, but rather a reality of modern touring.
Understandably, there is a frustration that comes with an entire date’s cancellation, alongside fans in the affected five cities now having to be refunded and enter a Ticketmaster battle. But to see West End Girl continue to thrive, in any capacity, is a feat in itself.
