Would it surprise you to learn that we thought CMAT’s set was really, really (really) good? We hope not, seeing as she’s one of our Dork 100 cover stars and also the best pop star around. The world has finally caught up with our love for Dunboyne’s greatest cultural export, with a whopping great Pyramid Stage slot, just two years on from teaching the crowd to two-step over at the much smaller Woodsies. It’s the biggest stage in the country, it’s televised, and it’s absolutely brilliant
A quick warm-up tour which took in Liverpool, Bedford, Falmouth and Frome (the classic tour route) and she’s somehow managed to compress her two hour stage show into 60 action-packed minutes, flitting between niche deli musings on definitely-not-a-diss-track ‘Jamie Oliver Petrol Station’ and yearnings for the rodeo on early classic ‘I Wanna Be a Cowboy, Baby’ so fast it’s hard to keep up. The crowd manage though, singing along to every word and giving the set a feeling of a euphoric mass karaoke.
We saw CMAT way back before her first album came out, and it was obvious even then that this was someone who could do great things with a little bit of budget and a few more songs. Today, that promise is fulfilled, with three near-perfect albums and a full band propelling her to the superstardom she’s always hinted at. You’ve got theatrically collapsing, you've got a dress with 'Dunboyne Diana’ emblazoned on the back, you’ve even got viral TikTok dances (courtesy of huge new album banger ‘Take a Sexy Picture of Me’). Also in possibly the most adorable moment of the weekend so far, her mum is side of stage and about as excited as anyone's mum has ever been for anything ever.
At one point between songs CMAT shouts “I have middle child syndrome, a fantastic ass, and the best irish rock and roll country band in the world!” We couldn't have put it better ourselves. Sunday lunchtime sees Rod Stewart play Glastonbury’s coveted legends slot. After what we’ve just seen, he’ll have a hard time getting anywhere near the level CMAT just did - even if he plays ‘Do Ya Think I’m Sexy’ straight into ‘Running / Planning’.
