logo
CMAT shouts ‘Free Palestine' and wades into Glastonbury crowd during lively set

CMAT shouts ‘Free Palestine' and wades into Glastonbury crowd during lively set

Irish Independent12 hours ago

CMAT chanted 'Free Palestine' and waded into the Pyramid Stage crowd, who were dancing in the midday heat, during her Glastonbury Festival set.
The musician, real name Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, 29, played songs from her back catalogue as well as new singles, including Take A Sexy Picture Of Me, from her forthcoming third studio album Euro-Country.
Plenty of festivalgoers could be seen doing the viral dance to the song, which has taken social media by storm in recent months.
Kicking off her set with Have Fun! the singer, who wore an all-purple ensemble with white boots, sang while lying flat on the floor before getting to her feet and shouting: 'Glasto!'
The musician, who blends pop and rock with folk and country influences, performed from her back catalogue, receiving rapturous applause while singing hits including I Don't Really Care For You.
The singer also encouraged fans to dance along to the 'Dunboyne County Meath two-step' while singing I Wanna Be A Cowboy, Baby!
'I think we might be about to break a personal record for the very sexy CMAT band,' she told crowds.
'We've never attempted it (the dance) with this many people so I'm a little scared,' the singer added.
Introducing herself, she told crowds: 'My name is CMAT and I'm literally just a young one from Dunboyne/Dublin, depending who you ask.'
'This is the scariest moment of my life but it will probably singlehandedly be the best and most amazing thing I'll ever do,' she added.
Towards the end of her set, she waded into the crowd to sing her popular song Stay For Something and chanted 'Free Palestine' in reference to the ongoing war in Gaza.
CMAT released her debut album, If My Wife New I'd Be Dead, in 2022, and followed it up with Mercury Prize-nominated Crazymad, For Me in 2023.
Her third studio album is set for release on August 29.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Review: CMAT puts on ‘all-timer' show at Glastonbury
Review: CMAT puts on ‘all-timer' show at Glastonbury

Irish Independent

time30 minutes ago

  • Irish Independent

Review: CMAT puts on ‘all-timer' show at Glastonbury

©Evening Standard Irish pop singer CMAT's threw down a rhinestone gauntlet to the Glastonbury festival's big guns yesterday with an all-timer performance involving hyperactive and hilarious stage craft, songs which soared, and a huge will to simply grab this moment and wring every drop of joy from it. The musician from Dunboyne, Co Meath, real name Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson (29), ticks every box in modern pop stardom. Sexy dance moves in Lycra, songs about messy love and hating Jamie Olivier, and a viral 'silly dance'. Or as she puts it: 'I have middle child syndrome, an amazing arse and the best Irish rock country band in the world.' With a clutch of albums under her belt and a new one on the way, this Glastonbury set felt like a true mass recognition of her talent and a step up into superstardom. What she has, that so many other artists don't, is the ability to be a laugh. She's constantly messing about, showing off, pulling faces, tearing around the stage, rolling over and taking the piss. It's old school entertainment that you just know comes from years of winning over hostile audiences in pubs, and makes her some dream combination of Kate Bush, Dolly Parton and Charlie Chaplin. A huge audience turned out for her set on the Pyramid stage at 1.40pm and she had them in the palm of her hand throughout. Introducing herself, she told crowds: 'My name is CMAT and I'm literally just a young one from Dunboyne/Dublin, depending who you ask.' There was one priceless moment mid-set when she told the crowd to talk among themselves while she has a band meeting. In a huddle with the Very Sexy CMAT Band, the mic 'accidentally' picked her up saying, 'Do you think they like us?' Later she'll spot someone side of stage: 'Sinead! That's my mum... I love that bitch.' The songs are fantastic too. Take A Sexy Picture of Me, from her upcoming album, is about the body-shaming abuse she received online. Of course her reaction is to strip down to her Lycra, wave her bum to the crowd and deliver a perfectly rendered protest song which is an anthem for celebrating yourself and telling the world where to go. It also has a set of dance moves that are so ridiculous it's impossible not to copy them. Another new song, The Jamie Oliver Petrol Station, is not a Jamie Oliver diss track, she says, it's more about her own hater tendencies. It combines her absolutely stunning vocal range with clowning about, hitting herself over the head as she curses her own viciousness. For I Wanna Be A Cowboy, Baby! she had the entire crowd doing the 'Dunboyne, Co Meath two-step' – and it really is the entire crowd – a sight which left the singer beaming. 'I think we might be about to break a personal record for the Very Sexy CMAT Band,' she told the crowd at the Somerset festival, which has sold over 200,000 tickets this year. 'We've never attempted it [the two-step] with this many people so I'm a little scared.' But then she was off again, into the crowd this time during Stay for Something, bouncing around and disappearing from view as the climax hit – along with the realisation among everyone watching that this was a bona fide classic set. Where did she get the energy? Back on stage, high kicks, silly faces, high notes, death drops onto the stage, and calls for a free Palestine. 'This is the scariest moment of my life but it will probably single-handedly be the best and most amazing thing I'll ever do,' she said. One of the best things Glastonbury has ever seen too.

Olivia Rodrigo sends fans wild as she brings out Ed Sheeran at huge sold out BST gig ahead of Glastonbury slot
Olivia Rodrigo sends fans wild as she brings out Ed Sheeran at huge sold out BST gig ahead of Glastonbury slot

The Irish Sun

time8 hours ago

  • The Irish Sun

Olivia Rodrigo sends fans wild as she brings out Ed Sheeran at huge sold out BST gig ahead of Glastonbury slot

OLIVIA Rodrigo sent her fans wild tonight when she surprised them by bringing out Ed Sheeran at her sold out BST gig in Hyde Park. Just two days before she closes Glastonbury Festival, Olivia proved why she's one of the best pop stars on the planet with a set jam-packed with catchy, angsty anthems. 5 Olivia Rodrigo performed a powerful set at BST tonight Credit: AP 5 The singer had a special guest waiting in the wings 5 Ed and Olivia performed his hit The A Team Credit: The Sun And superstar Ed's cameo was the icing on the cake of a glorious sunny day in the capital. Drivers License singer Olivia, 22, dressed to impress for her huge headline show, kicking off in a black sequined leotard. Ahead of the performance, she was able to unwind in her own private sanctuary with organisers adapting the backstage area with wildflower planters. And it was much needed as Olivia used up every ounce of energy in a lively set split into three parts. READ MORE ON OLIVIA RODRIGO It was in the final part that Ed came out for a rendition of his early hit The A Team, having watched the show from the side of the stage. Olivia introduced him as "one of the best songwriters of all time". There were famous faces in the crowd including James Corden, who stood beside Olivia's boyfriend Louis Partridge, and Sabrina Carpenter, who will perform on the same stage next week. Ed's no stranger to guest appearances, having stepped on stage with everyone from Limp Bizkit to Stormzy and Taylor Swift. Most read in Music And his acoustic anthem lent itself perfectly to Disney Channel starlet to 46million monthly listeners on Spotify , 14 Grammy nominations and collaborations with David Byrne and . Olivia Rodrigo praised for her 'iconic' FireAid performance - but fans all have the same complaint In 2016, Olivia was cast in Disney's Bizaardvark and three years later she starred in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, a mockumentary that sees a bunch of teens putting on a stage production of the hit. Between High School Musical takes, the young actress worked away on her guitar, writing more music, until eventually Disney bosses invited her to create an original song for her character to sing in the show. The piano ballad that emerged — All I Want — went viral, and she was soon in line for a record deal. But unlike others who went from Disney favourite to superstar, such as Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez, Olivia shunned the in-house label and decided to do things her own way. Everything changed overnight in January 2021 when Olivia released her debut single Drivers License in the middle of winter lockdown. It became the first song on Spotify to hit 80million streams in just seven days. The tune also shot straight to No1 on charts globally and propelled her into what she called a 'crash course in adulthood'. 'That was the craziest time of my life,' she said back then. 'I was sitting in a grocery store parking lot, and I called my A&R guy. 'It had just gone No 1 on Apple music, which is hard for a pop act to do. 'We were looking at each other on FaceTime, speechless. 'That was the moment I knew that it was going to be something bigger than I expected.' Her second single, Deja Vu, was certified four times platinum in the States, then May 2021 saw the release of her debut album Sour, with pop-punk hit Good 4 U going six times platinum in the US. She earned rave reviews from critics, while artists including Taylor Swift and Avril Lavigne heaped praise upon her. Her first live performance in the UK was at the Brit awards in 2021, while her festival debut here was at Glastonbury the following year. In just a few short years, she's now at the very top of the pile, holding her own beside fellow headliners The 1975 and Neil Young. 5 Ed loves collaborating with artists from all genres Credit: The Mega Agency 5 Olivia says she'd prefer to be known as a great songwriter than a pop star Credit: Getty

'She has it all': CMAT's 'spectacular' Glastonbury set has the energy of a headliner, say rave reviews
'She has it all': CMAT's 'spectacular' Glastonbury set has the energy of a headliner, say rave reviews

The Journal

time9 hours ago

  • The Journal

'She has it all': CMAT's 'spectacular' Glastonbury set has the energy of a headliner, say rave reviews

CMAT'S GLASTONBURY PERFORMANCE is set to catapult her career into another universe, according to rave reviews from critics of the festival. The 29-year-old musician, whose real name is Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, played songs from her back catalogue as well as new singles, including Take A Sexy Picture Of Me, from her forthcoming third studio album Euro-Country. Plenty of festivalgoers could be seen doing the viral dance to the song, which has taken social media by storm in recent months. The energetic singer chanted 'Free Palestine' and waded into the Pyramid Stage crowd, who were dancing in the midday heat, during her Glastonbury Festival set today. CMAT began her performance by pretending to faint before singing the first verse of Have Fun Alamy Alamy The Guardian described her as a 'spectacularly brilliant' performer , speculating that this show could pave the way for an even bigger surge in her popularity. There was a 'rapturous reaction' to her set. 'When she successfully encourages the audience to engage in synchronised dance moves to I Wanna Be a Cowboy, Baby!, she looks quite startled at what a crowd this size enthusiastically dancing in unison looks like,' The Guardian writes. 'It's all incredibly engaging and preposterously good fun. It really doesn't seem inconceivable that she could be headlining the next time she returns. Advertisement Alamy Alamy Introducing herself, she told crowds: 'My name is CMAT and I'm literally just a young one from Dunboyne/Dublin, depending who you ask.' 'This is the scariest moment of my life but it will probably singlehandedly be the best and most amazing thing I'll ever do,' she added. The Rolling Stones said CMAT 'has it all' and will be one of the defining artists of 2025. 'Her songs are catchy, poignant and well-crafted; on stage, she's a powerhouse of performance, cracking gags and diving into the crowd, but not forgetting to make her final statement a call for a free Palestine. 'It's rare that a standout set, unlikely to be beaten for the whole weekend, arrives so early on the Friday afternoon at Worthy Farm, but the Irish singer is on a roll of stunning momentum right now.' Alamy Alamy The Independent called it a 'note-perfect, high camp' set , which will 'be a launch pad for the next chapter of her career'. 'Her crooning and thick scooping vocals cut through the air like a machete, and that larger-than-life presence has a majestic quality to it, emphasised by the impression you get that she absolutely loves what she does. 'By the time she's screaming the final bars of Running/Planning from the floor, splashing a can of water over and flicking it around while headbanging like she's in a Celine Dion video, there's no doubt that we've witnessed someone who has squeezed every last drop of potential from this opportunity.' CMAT released her debut album, If My Wife New I'd Be Dead, in 2022, and followed it up with Mercury Prize-nominated Crazymad, For Me in 2023. Her third studio album is set for release on August 29. With reporting by PA Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store