Arlo Parks cancels string of concerts to look after her mental health
Fellow Brit Award winner Sam Fender also recently scrapped shows over similar concerns.
Arlo Parks has cancelled a string of concerts, saying her mental health has “deteriorated to a debilitating place”.
The Mercury Prize and Brit Award winning musician shared a statement on social media announcing she had decided to scrap some of her US tour dates and fly home for a period of rest and recovery.
The 22-year-old will recommence her tour at Portland’s Crystal Ballroom venue on September 26.
It comes days after fellow Brit Award winner Sam Fender also cancelled a series of upcoming shows to look after his mental health after becoming “burnt out”.
2021 was a breakout year for west London-raised Parks, during which she released her critically acclaimed debut album Collapsed In Sunbeams, won a string of awards and embarked on an international tour, opening for acts such as Harry Styles and Billie Eilish.
Addressing her fans, she wrote: “I’ve been on the road on and off for the last 18 months, filling every spare second in between and working myself to the bone.
“It was exciting and I was eager to grind and show everyone what I was capable of, how grateful I was to be where I am today.
“The people around me started to get worried but I was anxious to deliver and afraid to disappoint my fans and myself.
“I pushed myself unhealthily, further and harder than I should’ve.”
Parks said she now found herself in a “very dark place, exhausted and dangerously low”.
“It’s painful to admit that my mental health has deteriorated to a debilitating place, that I’m not okay, that I’m a human being with limits,” she said.
Announcing she was cancelling a clutch of upcoming shows, she added: “I don’t take decisions like this lightly but I am broken and I really need to step out, go home and take care of myself.
“I will do everything I can to make this up to you – for now you can get refunds at your point of purchase.
“I’m forever thankful to everyone who continues to show up for me, what a dream to have fans like you guys – I’ll be back – love AP.”
Parks, real name Anais Marinho, released her debut EP, titled Super Sad Generation, in April 2019.
Since then her profile has grown exponentially and 2020 saw her win the “one to watch” gong at the AIM Independent Music Awards and be named BBC Introducing’s artist of the year.
In May 2021, she won the award for best new artist at the Brit Awards and in September that year the Mercury Prize.
