Singer Santigold Cancels Tour Citing Inflation & Mental Health Struggles

Fans of Santigold will, unfortunately, have to wait to see her go on tour, as she recently called off the anticipated 2022 outing.

The unique artist took to Instagram to share the saddening news and pen a touching letter, informing fans of her reasons: inflation and mental health challenges, while trying to make it work but could not.

"I am so sorry to announce the cancellation of my Holified Tour," the American singer captioned her post that announced the cancellation, adding, "Please read the letter attached or click the link in bio to read the full letter with details of this announcement." The letter she referred to was the second of the two photos she uploaded; the first was a promotional picture of her tour. Santigold's note began:

"Dear Friends, I am both sad and proud to announce my decision to cancel the Holified Tour."  

She went on to explain why she was sad as it broke her heart to disappoint her fans, who consistently showed love and support for her career. The brilliant songwriter also did not want to let down those who had purchased tickets and planned trips to see her performance. And thinking about the disappointment, she felt it "deep" in the pit of her stomach. 

She further expressed excitement to be back with her fans in person to "celebrate and bring the music of this new record to life," knowing that without them, she would never have been able to create art over the years.

However, she noted that for the past few years, people had experienced "immense challenges, some physical, some mental, some spiritual, some economic," which some were still trying to recover from.

Santigold also pointed out that most of the experiences were neglected as everyone rushed back in, trying to "make up for lost time, to reconnect, catch up on bills unpaid, to escape the insanity that had begun to set in."

The situation affected her even as a touring musician who did not anticipate the new reality that awaited the world post-pandemic. She shared, "After sitting idle (not being able to do shows) for the past couple of years, many of us like everyone else, earning no or little income during that time, every musician that could, rushed back out immediately when it was deemed safe to do shows."

Such musicians were faced with "the height of inflation" and "devastating financial consequences," leading some to find themselves unable to make it work. And in her case, she "tried and tried," considering every angle to make it work, but could not. She also planned to explain more later as she believed it was important for people to know what artists go through.

The situation admittedly affected her as she experienced "anxiety, insomnia, fatigue, vertigo, chronic pain" and missed "crucial" time with her kids. Santigold further mentioned that her current position in the music industry felt like she was hanging on, "trying to make it to the ever-distant finish line, but my vehicle's been falling apart the whole time."

She often felt like giving up but never did, even with the letdowns. So, she used her honesty to tell fans that she was proud to cancel the tour to stop sacrificing herself for an "unsustainable" industry.

Earlier this month and ahead of the release of Santigold's latest album "Spirituals," she was interviewed by Paper Magazine, to whom she revealed more explicit details about the music piece.

When asked how the work started and ended up coming together, she revealed that back in 2019, while going through some of her creations, she told herself that she would make a new album.

And when the pandemic happened, with family crisis alongside environmental issues, she found herself sitting with the songs she wrote before, and "everything just poured out so fast."

As the conversation went on, the 46-year-old was inquired about what she hoped people took away from her music compilation, and she named quite a few things, including her wish for people to "feel empowered to explore."

Santigold also said people needed to connect and be present in their connection to one another on earth, living in harmony, which she believed her album was able to communicate, amongst other things.