PHILADELPHIA — Santigold planned to stop at the Franklin Music Hall in October for her Holified Tour. But the Philly-born artist, whose album "Spirituals" came out Sept. 9, has canceled the tour.
In a note on social media, Santi White shared her sadness in disappointing fans but detailed the reality of the mental, physical, emotional, spiritual and financial toll of the past few years.
With little to no income as she waited to safely perform for crowds, White was met with inflation challenges — consumer prices are up 9.1%, according the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — increasing gas, tour bus, hotel and flight costs. On top of that, “many of our tried-and-true” venues were booked and positive COVID-19 tests halted schedules, White shared.
“In my case, I have tried and tried, looked at what it would take from every angle, and I simply don’t have it,” she wrote. “I can’t make it work.”
“I want to tell you that for me it has taken a toll — through anxiety, insomnia, fatigue, vertigo, chronic pain, and missing crucial time with my children,” she continued. “In the place that I’m in, in the place that the music business is in, it feels like I’ve been hanging on, trying to make it to the ever-distant finish line, but my vehicle’s been falling apart the whole time — the bumper fell off, the wheels one at a time, the steering wheel, and finally the whole bottom fell out. And here I am thinking, ‘Should I just hold the doors up and run?’ And my little heart that has been working way beyond its limits, my whole body in fact and my soul too, are screaming at me.”
White, who grew up in Mount Airy, is the daughter of the late Ron White, an adviser to former Philly Mayor John F. Street, and Aruby Odom-White, a psychiatrist. The artist is a Wesleyan University graduate.
White’s new album, "Spirituals," is about “honoring yourself and refusing to cross your own boundaries.” She has four studio albums; the latest is her first in six years.
The artist, who lives in Los Angeles with her husband and sons, was set to return to her hometown Oct. 13.
Tickets will be refunded. Email proof of purchase to VIP@santigold.com and receive a VIP membership which gives access to early releases, announcements, options to buy merch, and “other exclusive experiences that I will create just for this group.”
“I want you to understand that I am proud to be canceling this tour when it means that I am proclaiming that I, the person who writes the songs, is as important to me as the songs,” she wrote. “I will not continue to sacrifice myself for an industry that has become unsustainable for, and uninterested in the welfare of the artists it is built upon.”
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