Six dates — that's the entire lineup for Charli XCX's new tour. When she announced her 'Music, Fashion, Film' UK and European tour, set to hit six cities — Dublin, Glasgow, Manchester, London, Amsterdam, and Paris — in February 2027, the comment section didn't fill with excitement but disappointment, with plenty of fans elsewhere in Europe questioning why there were so few stops.
Rather than let a publicist handle it, Charli typed out her own response on Instagram. "I know there's a lot of comments about people being frustrated that I'm not doing more dates. I'm sorry if that's disappointing but I have to be honest to who I am as an artist: touring is emotionally and physically really hard for me."
She went on: "I'm not looking for sympathy, and I have a lot of respect for artists who can push through touring in an intense, high-frequency way, but that's just not me, and it never has been." There was no softening the message, no dressing up the small number of shows as some kind of "curated" experience.
Charli said the same reasoning is behind why she's kept her current North American tour, which kicked off September 11 in Philadelphia, relatively short as well. She closed the post by adding: "I'm really sorry if you feel like I've let you down. Maybe one day I'll be ready to do the kind of touring scale you're hoping for, but not right now. If you're coming to a show, I hope you have a great time, and I'll try to keep myself in a healthy, positive headspace so we can enjoy it together."
This response didn't come out of nowhere. Back in June, Charli had already opened up about her mental state, describing herself as being "in the worst mental place of my life" and admitting, "my emotions are just so, so unstable right now, honestly." Seen in that context, this six-date tour statement reads less like a spur-of-the-moment excuse and more like a continuation of her ongoing, honest public reckoning with her own state.
Audrey Hobert will open every date of the tour. Tickets go on general sale next Friday (September 18) at 9am UK time.
Just before this backlash, Charli had landed a headliner slot at Reading & Leeds 2026 with her 'Music, Fashion, Film' show. NME gave the set four stars, calling her Reading performance "intensely stylised and visually striking, if occasionally a little flat," noting that the singer "who thrives in the dark" being slotted in an earlier timeslot was indeed "a bit of a shame." Still, the review singled out the show's closing stretch as "electric," concluding, "if only the whole set could have carried that same intensity."
