Lewis Capaldi was seen looking visibly devastated as he struggled to complete his Glastonbury 2023 set.
The Scottish singer-songwriter performed on the festival’s biggest stage, the Pyramid Stage, on Saturday afternoon (24 June), ahead of sets by Lizzo and Guns N’ Roses.
Capaldi, 26, began the afternoon in good spirits, pranking festivalgoers by erroneously announcing that Ed Sheeran would be joining him on stage. As the set wore on, however, he experienced vocal troubles, and was seen visibly struggling with tics. Last September, Capaldi revealed he had been diagnosed with Tourette’s Syndrome.
While he continued with the set, and was enthusiastically supported by the crowd, he struggled to make it through the final songs, and ultimately ended up cutting his set short.
Follow along with all the updates from Glastonbury at our live blog.
Capaldi recently took a break from performing for mental health reasons. Addressing the Glastonbury crowd, he said: “I recently took three weeks off. It was a break for my mental health.
“I wanted to come back and do Glasto ’cause it’s so incredible, so I just wanna thank you for watching us. I was s*** scared but you’ve really made me feel at ease.”
Towards the end of the set, he apologised to the crowd for the vocal issues.
“We’re gonna play two more songs if that’s okay, even if I can’t sing properly,” he told them. “I’m really sorry before I go any further. You’ve all come out and I’m really apologising. My voice is packing in.”
Fans shared support for the musician on social media, with one person describing him as a “hero”.
Capaldi on stage at Glastonbury— (BBC)
“There’s something really beautiful about the crowd filling in the lyrics for Lewis Capaldi,” one person wrote. “Poor guy. He looks devastated. But this is so wonderful. And all respect that he turned up to perform.”
“Heart genuinely bleeds for Lewis Capaldi. Absolutely love the guy and watching what he goes through to perform is nothing short of heart breaking. Hero amongst men,” wrote another.
In a three-star review of Capaldi’s Glastonbury gig for The Independent, critic Mark Beaumont wrote: “Early in his most iconic hit “Someone You Loved”, [Capaldi’s voice] audibly collapses completely. But this is an emotion-charged singalong of everyman heartache that carries itself – as Capaldi roams the stage dejected, convinced he’s blown the biggest show of his life, 200,000 voices offer him support in one of the most moving moments in recent Glastonbury memory. He may be by-numbers but he’s definitely someone Worthy Farm loves.”
Capaldi spoke in April about the fact that his tics have recently been worsening while he is on stage.
“I’m trying to get on top of that,” he toldThe Times. “If I can’t, I’m f***ed.
“It’s easier when I play guitar, but I hate playing guitar. I know, I’m a walking contradiction.”
Last month, at a performance in Germany, the “Someone You Loved” singer was seen visibly struggling with his symptoms.
