CMAT + FANCY HAGOOD – BRIGHTON DOME 20.11.25
In 2018, struggling musician Ciara Marie Alice Thompson attended a Charli XCX listening session. She took it seriously, even approaching Charli afterward to offer criticism. Recognising a fellow musician, Charli responded: “You need to just do the thing and stop talking about doing the thing.”
CMAT took the advice. She broke up with her boyfriend and moved back to Dublin. This break-up sparked inspiration for a host of tracks, including the perennial set closer ‘Stay For Something.’
Seven years later, CMAT is rapidly rising, poised for her own Brat Summer moment. Brighton provides the perfect setting to showcase her camp-infused contemporary country. This is her second of three shows inside 12 months, with a sold-out Brighton Centre upgrade coming in March 2026. Her rapid ascent through Brighton’s venues follows the viral success of her third album ‘EURO-Country,’ which was named album of the year by Resident.
The self-proclaimed ‘Dunboyne Diana’ blends influences from Shania Twain’s polished country pop to Phoebe Bridgers’ gut-wrenching earnest, all with a Jarvis Cocker-esque sly wink. This blend has pushed CMAT’s momentum into hyperdrive this year, arriving at Brighton Dome with two consecutive Mercury Prize nominations having seemingly outgrown the hall.
Support tonight comes from Fancy Hagood. Keeping with the rhinestone cowboy pop theme, Hagood’s music resembles Orville Peck’s approach to country. His vocals, indebted to R&B, resemble fellow upcomer Sekou.
The lights drop as Hagood arrives silently on stage, backed only by a fiddler and guitarist. His opener ‘Don’t Blink’ impressively earns applause following a display of powerful vocals. “For those of you who don’t know me, which is most of you – I’m Fancy Hagood” Hagood announces, showing rare confidence in anonymity.
Introduced with “I like to cover songs that are country and not queer and make them country and queer,” a surprise cover of Olivia Dean’s ‘Man I Need’ arrives. Hagood transforms it from paint-by-numbers pop longing to sombre pleading, helped immensely by singalongs. His cover bravely acknowledges audience unfamiliarity, and is met with healthy applause from a growing crowd.
Despite self-awareness, his set falls short of his cover’s impact. ‘Camo Jacket’ has a unique hook of lying about a jacket left at his house but leans heavily on every western cliché. Single ‘Losing Game’ is no different – its lyrics are a checklist of genre stereotypes: “I’d drink you straight out the bottle if you were champagne” sounds like it could be as old as Hank Williams.
Hagood and CMAT share a riotous sense of humour, and an unfiltered stage presence akin to Lewis Capaldi creating kinship and theme. Regrettably, Hagood’s weak original tracks make his set underwhelming. His role as a queer country artist is vital, and has immense potential if he can translate his humour into lyrics as effectively as CMAT has. This potential remains agonisingly unrealised with the crowd far more interested in CMAT’s long-awaited rodeo than his tired country tropes.
Fancy Hagood setlist:
‘Don’t Blink’
‘Isn’t That Life’
‘Man I Need’ (Olivia Dean cover)
‘Camo Jacket’
‘Losing Game’
‘Cure The Lonely’
Tonight’s diverse, sold-out crowd even caused queues at the men’s toilets. In the hall, twenty-somethings in cowboy boots mingle with forty-somethings in polka dots, cosplaying tonight’s headliner. There are even Radio 6 dads on display, ready for their next ‘I was there moment.’
Lights cut out; blue flashes pulse with the piano beats of opener ‘Janis Joplining’. The band delivers dreamy avant-pop only representative of tonight’s sound thematically. Opening lyric “I’m a writer” triggers endless applause, as CMAT appears on the balcony, greeted with ecstasy. Our headliner has arrived – one month late, at her rescheduled show.
Sprinting to the stage, she shrieks “Homosexuals of Brighton” before segueing into ‘Jamie Oliver Petrol Station.’ CMAT rampages across the stage in perfect tune, exploring her propensity for hatred through the lens of Britain’s most maligned TV chef. The song swirls into sonic breakdown, an Avant-pop one-two punch to open proceedings.
Three songs in and the applause is already never-ending. The crowd is already CMAT’s to toy with. Thompson makes use of the evident production values, climbing up the staircase before launching into the country-synth pop of ‘I Don’t Really Care For You.’ This is a song where she does not stop moving, making sure everyone in the crowd gets a photo. She even stops the song entirely to dance with her band members at the front. Her dramatic flair is never indulgent; instead, landing as fun showmanship, with stop-starting and quips that make the crowd follow her lead.
“My name is CMAT and this is the very sexy CMAT band” she shouts. “What do you know about good men! Me neither” bantering with audience members in DIY merch. ‘When A Good Man Cries’ gets its airing, a fiddle-led country ballad admitting wrongdoing to an ex-partner. It is the first moment of tonight where theatrics are noticeably pared back, allowing a more serious moment to have weight. “The people’s mess/Dunboyne Diana” is shouted back, echoing around the concert hall.
The first stumble arrives with ‘2 Wrecked 2 Care,’ introduced as the favourite song of a “Friend and Brighton local.” Unfortunately, she forgets the lyrics, prompting the early arrival of surprise guest Declan McKenna and an impromptu duet – with their voices melding together gorgeously. Whilst risking unprofessionalism, CMAT charms in admitting these lapses is something charmingly in character rather than careless error.
If any member of the crowd is lost, they’re immediately brought back with the honky-tonk stomp of ‘Have Fun’ – a song bridging pop, Irish traditionalism and country. The moment is infectious, CMAT starts on the floor and ends up dancing like a drunk aunt at a wedding. Fittingly, it feels like one as everyone’s hands stay in the air as friends and strangers move together.
Between whistles and cheers, the viral hit of ‘Take A Sexy Picture Of Me’ is introduced, along with its origin story. BBC comments being turned off due to ‘nasty comments about my [CMAT] physical appearance.’ CMAT turns something traumatic into a pantomime moment for boos.The country pop joy, aired surprisingly early, earns rapturous singalongs, dancing by idle band members, and a cameo from “The gay guy who ruined my life.” This being influencer Sam Morris, who arrives to do the TikTok dance he created for the song – a dance dubbed ‘The Woke Macarena.’ The track lambasts beauty standards, as an act of defiance – a veritable middle finger to patriarchal standards, and a formidable combination with ‘Have Fun!.’
CMAT teases “How do you feel about hearing a song that’s never been played live before?” as ‘Euro-Country’ cut ‘Tree Six Foive’ gets its live debut. Its synth country line dance keeps momentum going, turning the concert hall into a barn dance. “Road picks in the setlist to keep you on your toes” hints at the inclusion of surprise songs in future setlists – a hallmark of a true pop star.
However, ballad ‘Iceberg’ receives a slightly tepid response; its slow ode to female friendship slightly hinders the energy of tonight’s setlist. While slow, the song feels intentional, a way of highlighting band camaraderie. It is a duet with fiddle player Holly Carpenter, a shared spotlight, that shows love to her backing band while conserving energy for the emotiveness to come.
Fortunately, this picks up with a rare outing of John Grant collaboration ‘Where Are Your Kids Tonight’ – since Grant is absent, keyboardist Colm Conlan steps in. The song nearly falls apart when Thompson’s earpiece falls out, and bassist Willy Bishop struggles to fix it – emphasising the constructed ramshackle chaos of the night. Followed by country-twanged ‘Running/Planning,’ sparking hushed singalongs, and dancing from the upper deck of the hall. It ends abruptly – the lights go down for an anti-climactic close of carefully constructed mania.
In spite of an ending, it is clear there is more to be said. Whistles, stomps and claps demand their presence back on stage. There are loftier emotional heights to reach.
A Euro coin logo (with CMAT’s face on it) adorning the stage finally lights up. The band stroll back on stage, illuminated. “Cad is gá dom a dhéanamh mura bhfuil mé ag bualadh leat?” CMAT sings, announcing the righteous fury of ‘Euro-Country.’ Whilst threatening to be tonally jarring, its key change of “all the big boys/all the Berties” lands as Thompson’s first entirely serious segment: an eruption of anger that feels as earned as a breakthrough in therapy.
Never staying serious for too long, our headliner teases, “we’re never coming back to Brighton.. depends how the next two songs go” as a guitar is handed to her. “The Dunboyne County Mead two step. It is a legal requirement you join us in this…” the crowd obliges after following easy instructions. Swaying side to side, the crowd becomes CMAT’s herd, even singing “always the cowboy/never the cow” when prompted. Her breakout track remains a fan favourite, hypnotising a room of strangers into swaying and stepping on each other’s shoes.
For most other artists, this would be a fitting closer: a final dance and singalong, indicative of your ethos. However, CMAT is not most artists – there is one track left to share.
She sings “Say you put me through it/Lord I know I used to…” acapella, ensuring the crowd knows the words and highlights the Dome’s remarkable acoustics and sound mixing. The country rock of finale ‘Stay For Something’ tumbles in. Despite maniacal energy throughout, she hits new heights. Thompson sprints around, screaming lyrics, exorcising resignation of her ex. As the song winds down, she leaps into the crowd shouting, “I want to dance with every single one of you” for one last chorus. A conclusive kick of catharsis that sparks a pop crowd jumping and finally confirms what fans knew all along: CMAT may be generational.
As the crowd buzzes with “that was incredible” to each other, you have to commend CMAT. Most artists hold back on stages they’ve outgrown; she gives everything, needing the crowd as much as they need her. Her appeal lies in her songs only taking themselves seriously when they must, laughing through pain in a uniquely Gen-Z approach. Whilst her antics on stage threaten to overshadow her music, they create a safe space – because the most carefree person is on stage, the crowd is free to shamelessly sing and dance throughout. CMAT’s mission statement is a simple one: Have Fun. This ethos promises deserved festival headlines next year and greater heights thereafter. Despite an already stratospheric rise, this is only the beginning. CMAT seems poised to take her place at pop’s summit, after a night of country pop perfection – another unforgettable milestone for an artist with no ceiling.
CMAT setlist:
‘Janis Joplining’
‘Jamie Oliver Petrol Station’
‘I Don’t Really Care For You’
‘When A Good Man Cries’
‘2 Wrecked 2 Care’ (Declan McKenna Brought out)
‘Have Fun!’
‘Take A Sexy Picture Of Me’
‘Tree Six Foive’
‘Iceberg’
‘Where Are Your Kids Tonight?’
‘Running/Planning’
‘Euro-Country’
‘I Wanna Be A Cowboy, Baby!’
‘Stay For Something’
