Ethel Cain would like you to shut the f--k up during the support act

One of many issues plaguing the concert experience in 2026 was addressed by Ethel Cain over the weekend.

"to preface, this does not happen at every show, but it's happened enough times at enough shows that i just wanted to come on here and say real quick that it's a little disappointing when i'm trying to watch our opener and i have to strain to hear them over the roar of the crowd's conversation," Cain wrote.

"the show begins with the opener, not when i walk onstage, and you (hopefully) wouldn't do it at a movie theater or a stage play or anywhere else so i'm not sure what the deal is with doing it at a concert," the post continued. "regardless of your taste in music, i just find it disrespectful. everyone who has ever shared a stage with us was either a close friend of mine or someone who's artistry i greatly admire, so it upsets me to think the people who have come to see me sing would talk over them. obviously i can't make yall do anything, but just wanted to point it out. all love!!"

Cain is currently at the tail end of The Willoughby Tucker Forever Tour in support of her second studio album, Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You, released in August last year. The major international run of close to 100 shows has seen her play a string of festivals and headliners, with Lollapalooza in Chicago, All Things Go in Washington, DC, and Roskilde in Denmark still to come.

Opening acts for the tour have included Toronto shoegazers 9Million, Scottish bagpipe player Brìghde Chaimbeul, and Auckland rock-and-roll duo Elliot & Vincent.

The statement comes amid renewed discourse around phoneless shows thanks to Phoebe Bridgers' Lost Tour, for which crowd members must lock their smartphones, smartwatches, and recording devices inside magnetic Yondr pouches.

Cain played Usher Hall in Edinburgh last night and the tour continues Wednesday 1 July at Stadtpark Freilichtbühne in Hamburg.