Ciara Mary-alice thompson aka CMAT is the irish country-pop music sensation all the coolest people you know are talking about!! I feel like such a fake fan because I didn't get into her music when if my wife new came out but I've formed such a strong bond with her music i think it's fine! CMAT is know for her incredible introspective country pop bangers and killer performance skills!
This womans music has become one of my most rabid special interests so i am looking forward to sharing my knowledge here! Stick on the cmat playlist in the top right corner and have a look!
i havent been able to find a lot of cmat web graphics around so i made some!!
I have seen cmat live 7!! Times because I’m insane. I first saw her open for Florence and the machine in Belfast! i had heard of her before and loads of people recommended her to me but i hadn't listened to her before but she absolutely blew me away! she had such and insane skill in winning the crowd over. i spent the whole time on the train home listening to her first album lol
second time i saw her was for the golden discs signing event! i showed up way too early so i could get a good spot. she was so so so good she played ID WANT U which is insane cause she never plays that anymore and its one of my favourites,,,, sadly because i was at the very front for the show i was at the very back for the meet and greet bit so i was standing for like 2 hours and i hadnt eaten or drank water all day because at the time i was very stupid and didnt take proper care of myself anyway anyway because of that once i got up to the top of the line i was shaking violently and felt like i was about to fall over but she was still so kind to me and could probably tell i was super super nervous! but i gave her some drawings i did and she signed my vinyls it was very nice. i hope she does another one again so i can appear normal next time lol
okay yes i did go to all 4 cmat shows at the olympia this is the part where i start sounding deranged..... it was not planned really! on the morning of the first gig i was having a really shite day already and the only thing i had to look forward to was the cmat concert i was going to the day after so i checked ticketmaster to see if there were any tickets for the first nights show and there was one!!! i bought it immediately and ended up going straight from school to the venue to queue. it was freezing but i queued for 3-4 hours??? i think??? and i got barrier! the entire night was so so surreal and incredible the setlist was BANGER AFTER BANGER, the choreography and vibes were crazy i wanted to never leave,,,, so after that i just kept refreshing and trying to get tickets for the other two nights i didnt have tickets for lol!
the second night i was a little bit of a freak! i saw during the first night that she was throwing guitar picks out into the audience and i was like.... im too uncoordinated to catch one i need to make a sign,,, so i made a cute little sign! and i put on it that id trade her a pick for a bracelet tee hee! attaching a video of this interaction that happened after 
i put it up because i get overwhelmed when i try to explain it lol,,,,, but i was completly star struck and she wore the bracelet for most of the show even though it was slipping off half the time! (i forgot to prestretch the cheap plastic string i was using so it doubled in length by the time it got to her lol) by the time i got home i was absolutely BEAMING i was so so happy, i also got the setlist that has her boot print on it which is metal as FUCK
the third day was a saturday so i queued up even earlier because im crazy and thought "well its the weekend so people will be queuing up earlier!! they weren't! some people have jobs and dont want to queue out in -3c weather i guess! but i still queued alone crazy early and just sort of stood there and read my book until whoops! i see cmat walking out of the building past me!
i am suddenly TERRIFIED of her seeing me and thinking im some crazy stalker so i stick my face into the book and i avoid eye contact! when she comes back to the building she sees me, recognizes me and says hi???? she was so so nice even though i was frozen still from being so nervous again lol she chatted to me, asked me if i was coming to the show tommorrow too and grabbed me some free merch and signed most of it, again my face was stuck in a state of shock and horror the entire time so i probably weirded her out a little bit lol. The rest of the night was just as awesome as the other two!! the show was amazing and it was the most crazy i had ever seen a crowd!
the fourth night is honestly the one i remember the least about! i just remember it was great and i spent a lot of the time before and after talking to other cool cmat babies! i stayed afterward for a while just chatting to other fans and geeking out! those 4 concerts really got me through a really tough time! worth the queuing in the cold completly!
this one was INSANNNE! it was CMATS biggest dublin gig so i wanted to orangize something special! i saw phoebe bridgers perform at the same venue before and someone had organized a fan project using green pieces of paper to create a wave of green lights phoebe could see from the stage. i thought something similar would be cool for cmats song "have fun" where she talks about the green parakeets in london. i thought about how a load of green lights could be a good reference to that,, So i spent months and months cutting out these green paper hearts by myself and living with constant hand cramps because of it lol. I also recruited the lovely lovely members of the discord to help me hand them out on the day!
i queued up for this one super early as well but i spent almost the whole time chatting with other fans and meeting up with online cmat baby mutuals and listening with bated breath to the soundcheck! im going to be honest hearing her soundcheck torn apart, wuthering height then where are your kids tonight with a voice that sounded suspiciously like john grant ROCKED MY SHIT. I had one of the best queue experiences ever, it was loads of fun and my dad dropped down some hillbillys chicken for me so that was great
i did end up getting barrier even though i got seperated from half of the people i was with lol. The show opened with a really cool version of nashville then california and i had chills THE WHOLE TIME. California is always going to bring me to tears no matter the context but god it hit different here. The entire setlist was CRAZY it was my first time hearing Mayday live somehow?? and my first time hearing no more virgos live since i first saw CMAT at belsonic. Also john grant???? he was there they did where are your kids tonight it was great obviously. Then Torn Aparts live debut!! its one of my favourite CMAT songs and its probably the only time shes going to play it so its one of the many many reasons i was so happy to be there
the fan project went really well!! i cried,,,, Hannah Morgan, the cmat band drummer posted an awesome video of the full song from the pov of her drumkit and its SICK. i think if i were to do another fan project i wouldnt have made the pieces of paper a heart shape,,, it just took too long and i was missing 1000 pieces because of it,,, if i did it again i would just make them small strips and id get a paper guillotine.... we'll see'... Anyway the fan project got a great reaction from the cmat crew and they paid for all the materials i used and sent me a cmat bolo tie i had been looking for all year (ㅠuㅠ) (ㅠuㅠ)
i spent the rest of the show half dissociating from all the emotions but having the time of my life! So many people were so lovely to me about the project after the show it was very nice. im writing this on 18/9/24 so i currently have no upcoming CMAT shows at the time of writing this.... today CMAT posted that shes moving two new york to "get some work done" so i can only hope this means CMAT3 and an accompanying tour is on its way,,
If this has converted you into being a cmat baby pls join the official discord!! We have a lot of fun over there and it’s the best way to keep up with everything cmat!
