Florence + The Machine: Touring While Sober Is Lonely

Florence Welch has been sober for over four years, but she still finds the start of each tour daunting without alcohol.

Welch told ES Magazine, “Most of the things in my life have got exponentially better from not drinking, but it’s lonely being sober on big tours.” She explained that the first week of a trek, “I get really freaked out and wonder how sustainable it is as a way of life. I can’t sleep, and I’m calling my manager, like, ‘I just can’t do this. This is the last one.”

But, she adds, interaction with fans makes it bearable. “By the end, I’m in the swing of it. It’s almost like an addictive cycle: the first week is like, ‘Oh my God, no, this is terrifying.’ Then at the end, you’re like, ‘I can’t wait to go back and play.'”