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.

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