Ethel Cain has apologised to fans after ending a show in Paris after just three songs, saying she has been “having a bit of a time lately”.
The artist – real name Hayden Anhedönia – released her latest record ‘Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You’ in August, an album she has said will “close the chapter” of the ‘Ethel Cain’ character in her career.
She embarked on a sold-out UK and European tour to support the album earlier this month, and played the first of a pair of shows in Paris’ L’Olympia on Saturday (October 17).
The show, however, was cut short during its fourth song ‘Nettles’, when Cain appeared to break down in tears before walking off the stage. The live crowd were informed that the show had been met with “technical issues” and “unforeseen circumstances”, and the concert did not resume.
Watch footage from the show here:
@samnotsam_ i hope she’s okay… we all have shown our support and cheered ! WE LOVE YOU!!!!! #ethelcain #paris
♬ original sound – sam
@jojo_biaggio #concert #ethelcain
♬ son original – Jonah🌙
@jojo_biaggio #concert #ethelcain
♬ son original – Jonah🌙
Cain later took to her Instagram Stories, writing: “Hi Paris. My apologies for the show last night. I’ve been having a bit of a time lately and sometimes it unpredictably bleeds over onto the stage. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to finish the set but I’m looking forward to tonight’s show and i can’t wait to see all of you.”
“To everyone who attended last night, I apologize again for the disappointment and the planning that I’m sure went into you attending. It means a lot to me that you came and I’m sorry I let you down. Please contact your point of sale for full refunds.”
The second show at Paris’ L’Olympia is still scheduled to go ahead tonight (October 19).
NME attended her recent show in London’s Hammersmith Apollo, and in a four-star review wrote: “Anhedönia conjures the slightly campy, vaguely spooky atmosphere of a B-movie graveyard, and performs the majority of the show from within her mossy altar, which comes complete with theatrical backlighting and a crucifix mic stand. A show exceedingly light on stage patter, the few words she does exchange with the crowd are unshowy, and more or less invisible to most of the room.”
In July, a slew of past controversial social media posts from the singer’s past resurfaced. She went on to admit to having sent the posts and apologised for some of the “shameful” content. She also said that the people resurfacing the content are not seeking justice, but looking to “destroy” her.
NME awarded ‘Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You’ five stars, writing: “On the closing track ‘Waco, Texas’, Ethel accepts a life of nothingness, though she still anticipates the tiniest possibility that Willoughby could ever return to her. It’s a seemingly hopeless conclusion, but the raison d’être of this album isn’t nihilism – it’s the pure, devotional love that Hayden Anhedönia holds for her protagonist, even through her suffering. If this truly is the end of her story, it’s hard to imagine a more heartfelt way to lay Ethel Cain to rest.”
