CMAT Leaves Everyone Happy at Brooklyn Steel
CMAT – Brooklyn Steel – May 15, 2026
“We have her for like five seconds, and then she will be untouchable to all of us,” declared CMAT fan Brandi Carlile on a recent guest spot on the Las Culturaistas podcast. Irish pop-songstress Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson (CMAT) has been steadily releasing music from her 2021 debut EP, Diet Baby, to last year’s third studio album, Euro-Country. In a recent Track Star appearance, Thompson admitted that she didn’t listen to much contemporary music and added, “I’m very stuck in, I would say between the 1940s to the 1970s predominantly. Actually, recently this week, I decided to move into the future, and I started getting into ’80s power ballads. They are mind-blowingly well-made.” One would argue that she can craft a powerful ballad in her own right. Thompson landed at a nearly sold-out Brooklyn Steel filled with adoring fans to support her country-tinged album.
Illuminated by the spotlight with her back to the audience, the redheaded siren turned to face her devoted followers with a cowbell primed for “Tree Six Foive,” and an interlude of the “Theme from New York, New York” delighted the room. She was accompanied by the Very Sexy CMAT Band, and the nearly two-hour set included interpretive dance, theatrics and plenty of good ol’ fun. For an extra-special treat, Euro-Country producer Oli Deakin sat in on pedal steel, making the evening a full-circle moment as that album was recorded just steps away in Greenpoint. Songs from it plus favorites from CMAT’s back catalog — including “I Don’t Really Care for You,” off Diet Baby and recently re-released Record Store Day single — fueled consistent swaying across the floor.
Fiddle player Holly Carpenter, keyboardist Colm Conlan and guitarist Jack Wolter (aka “Skirt Cobain”) joined Thompson for a hearty line dance, leading into “When a Good Man Cries.” Face-planting on Hannah Morgan’s drum riser, the singer laid down for “Have Fun!,” from 2023’s Crazymad, for Me, while Wolter and bassist Willy Bishop worked their skirts. Sawyer, an 11-year-old up front, asked for a song request as a stand-in for everyone else who was too lazy to make a song-request sign (digital signs were not accepted). She only had songs already on the setlist, but a very animated blonde fan made a clear plea for “Can’t Make Up My Mind,” another off the 2023 sophomore album. (Don’t worry about Sawyer, she got her favorite, “Running/Planning,” later in the show.) Needless to say, everyone left happy Friday night with closer “Stay for Something,” in which Thompson parted the floor to serenade them up close, marching down to the sound booth and back. —Sharlene Chiu | @shar0ck
Photos courtesy of Ken Grand-Pierre | www.kenamiphoto.com
