The so-called ‘Summer of CMAT’ certainly seemed in full swing at Glastonbury 2025 this afternoon, the singer-songwriter charming the Pyramid Stage crowd with a mix of country-pop numbers that spanned her three albums.
CMAT, real name Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, ran onto the stage sticking her tongue out at the audience – many of whom donned cowboy hats – before theatrically falling to the floor and singing the opening words to her 2023 single ‘Have Fun!’
Joined on the stage by her band, everyone kitted out in blue and white outfits, she introduced herself as someone with “middle child syndrome” and an “amazing ass”.
In an interlude, she joined three of her bandmates (from the “very sexy CMAT band”, she explains) in a synchronised dance, before going into ‘2 Wrecked 2 Care’ and ‘Aw, Shoot!’.
CMAT is too cool i actually can't deal
— dais 🦕🐝 (@clockypowers) June 27, 2025
CMAT is killing it on the Pyramid Stage! A national treasure 🇮🇪 #Glastonbury2025
— David Rossiter (@DavidRossiterNI) June 27, 2025
Watching @cmatbaby and the very sexy Cmat band at #Glastonbury2025 from the comfort of my own home <3 pic.twitter.com/fYjScdUdPF
— Ak 🇵🇸 (@getthebalance01) June 27, 2025
She then opened up about the negative comments she has received from online trolls over the past year or so, prompting the opening notes of ‘Take A Sexy Picture Of Me’, one of the singles from her upcoming album, ‘Euro-Country‘, out on August 29.
It’s fast become one of her signature songs, going viral on TikTok for a dance popularised by influencer Sam Morris that some have dubbed the ‘Woke Macarena’. CMAT duly obliged, taking part in the dance herself. “What a crazy world we live in, eh?” she remarked afterwards. “Thank you for doing the silly little dance.”
It was the first of a trio of ‘Euro-Country’ singles, followed by ‘The Jamie Oliver Petrol Station’ and ‘Running/Planning’. “Thank you Jamie Oliver, and don’t sue me!” she then quipped, adding: “Rest in peace Turkey Twizzlers.”
not CMAT having a picture of Jamie Oliver on her outfit 😭😭
— lauren 🏁 (@spideyleclerc) June 27, 2025
CMAT led the crowd in a ‘Dunboyne County Meath two-step’ – a regular occurrence at her gigs – during ‘I Wanna Be A Cowboy, Baby!’ and finished her set with ‘Stay For Something‘ by getting in the middle of the crowd, leading them in a chant of ‘Free, free Palestine’ as she headed off.
The Pyramid Stage is going to see lots of the biggest names in music over the next couple of days – including Biffy Clyro, Alanis Morissette and headliners The 1975 later today – but they’ll have a lot to live up to.
The natural sense of fun and cracking tunes carry the irrepressible CMAT through it and then some.
Cracking set from a cracking celt @glastonbury @cmatbaby pic.twitter.com/i6meatb2Vu
— According to McGee (@according2mcgee) June 27, 2025
watching everyone falling in love with CMAT pic.twitter.com/op2nJMTKqN
— jess 💋 (@jesss_mp3) June 19, 2025
CMAT’s 2025 Glastonbury setlist was:
‘Have Fun’
‘I Don’t Really Care For You’
‘2 Wrecked 2 Care’
‘Aw, Shoot!’
‘Take A Sexy Picture Of Me’
‘The Jamie Oliver Petrol Station’
‘Running/Planning’
‘I Wanna Be A Cowboy, Baby’
‘Stay For Something’
CMAT, who was brought out by Sam Fender at one of his recent Newcastle shows alongside Olivia Dean, said about her place in the current country music revival to NME last year: “I think I’m doing a really good job of bastardising country music,” she said. “Half of the country music fans in America who have listened to me, do not like me! But there’s this bubbling resistance to the super-commercialised, very tired country music tropes that we’ve heard for the last 35 years since.
“I’m really proud to be part of it, and I hope that the age-old saying of, ‘I like everything – just not country music or jazz’ becomes a thing of the past as people realise that there is a lot more in both of those genres beyond everything you’ve heard before. There are people making it who really care about it and care about pushing out.”
Check back at NME here for the latest news, reviews, interviews, photos and more from Glastonbury 2025.
English (US) · 