Rising star Ryan cancels tour due to mental health

17 August 2022

PORTAFERRY singer-songwriter Ryan McMullan has cancelled his upcoming tour after admitting that he is struggling with his mental health.

However the star – widely regarded as one of the biggest acts to emerge from Northern Ireland – will still play at Custom House Square in Belfast on August 27, with a planned appearance at Derry’s Millennium Forum in November also going ahead as planned.

Ryan had been planning to release his debut album but the outbreak of Covid put the brakes on its launch. However, the period off gave him more time to work on his new Redesign album, which is still all set for release on Friday of next week.

To coincide with the long-awaited release of Redesign, Ryan was due take to the road again in a huge headline tour, kicking off at Custom House Square before touring the UK and Ireland, the United States and Canada followed.

It was then over to Europe before heading down under to Australia.

Ryan announced the cancellation of his tour to his legions of fans on social media last week.

He wrote: “Dear best fans in the world. It is with the heaviest of hearts that, with the exception to the Belfast show and the Derry show, I have decided to cancel the Redesign tour.

“I’m heartbroken to have to do this, especially with the release of my debut album, but the truth is I’ve been struggling a lot lately with my mental health and after speaking to professionals and my incredibly supportive team, I have decided that the best thing for me to do right now is to take a step back from touring.

“Your support over these past years has been so incredible. You deserve nothing short of me at my very best and to do this tour right now would be less than that.”

Confirming that his new album is still on schedule to be released on August 26, Ryan asked his fans to pre-save or pre-order it if they haven’t yet, so that when he is feeling healthier, the fans can join him to sing the songs together.

In the past year, Ryan has played two sold-out Belsonic concerts at Ormeau Park alongside Dermot Kennedy, as well as two nights at the Waterfront Hall, and a sell-out Irish tour.

His forthcoming Custom House Square gig will feature support from two emerging Belfast artists — Travi The Native and Lucy Gaffney.

He has toured worldwide with some of the most well known artists such as Ed Sheeran, Snow Patrol, Kodaline and Foy Vance, Ryan quickly understood the assignment and has since gone on to have world tours of his own.

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