CMAT delivered an absolute masterclass on knocking it out of the park at Scarborough Open Air Theatre on July 18th. With support from Katy J Pearson.
It truly feels like we’ll look back on this gig and struggle to believe we saw the CMAT at Scarborough Open Air Theatre – she is a star who promises this is only the beginning of a life-time of work (Sidetracked, 2026) and I, for one, feel so lucky to watch it unfold.
CMAT is made for a venue like the OAT; if you put her under a ceiling she’ll blow the roof off so, when she’s in the open that star-power goes sky high!
The Euro-Country Tour (CMAT’s third studio album), comes off the back of an impressive slew of accolades, within the musical and pop culture world, with the album being nominated for a Mercury Prize, and taking home the Ivor Novello Award, as well as CMAT herself being nominated for Best International Artist at the Brits. The song Take A Sexy Picture Of Me made its name in the Tik Tok space with the bridge receiving its own viral dance; and most recently, international pop star Olivia Rodrigo covered When A Good Man Cries in the BBC 1 Live Lounge, bringing the song to whole new audiences. It’s fair to say, it’s been a busy year for CMAT, but that does not seem to be slowing down her rip-roaring live performances this summer!
The night began with tour support, Katy J Pearson. Leaning into the county-folk side of the CMAT demographic, a musical calm before the CMAT storm, Pearson brought her uniquely wistful voice to the stage, moving through the journey of her three studio albums. With Pearson primarily on acoustic with her electric band behind, it brought a modern twist on folk, whilst delving into the themes of love, loss and the natural world that run so deeply in folk tradition. The setlist comprised of lilting, emotional moments and fan favourites such as Take Back The Radio and Return.
Then it was CMAT. There is no indifference to this Irish, pop-come-country-come-indie artist – you either love her or just don’t know her yet! When the crowd feels this way, well, it’s one heck of an atmosphere – and of course, you’ve got to say your hellos before you get started! She beamed onto the stage with her distinct cheeky charm, playing into her pop-star persona with pouts and poses for her adoring fans to enjoy; tongue-in-cheek yet met with sincere applause as she commands the stage by being all the things women are so often told not to be (and the crowd love it!)
She calls out ‘Hello Scarbados!’ then tells us, ‘we’ve got to start every show by drinking some diesel!’ and launches us into the madness of Jamie Oliver Petrol Station. Perhaps the perfect song for any unfamiliar audience members to understand what on earth they are getting into tonight. A song based around her disassociation with reality manifesting in her disdain for Jamie Oliver Delis. It is this, outwardly nonsensical yet wildly, uniquely perceptive take on late-stage capitalism and modern life that earns CMAT her devoted fans. A punchy and energetic opener with infinite lyrics for the crowd to shout back with CMAT, as she cries ‘I’m really not explaining myself well…’ for those in the audience who have been left with questions.
The Euro-Country Tour is not only the live exploration of (I would strongly argue) a perfect album, but with the Crazymad, For Me and If My Wife Knew I’d be Dead albums added to the journey, making way for a jam packed set of fan favourites and certified bangers with I Don’t Really Care for You and 2 Wrecked 2 Care! holding up the start of CMAT’s unforgettable set.
One song that many fans, including myself, were keen to hear was When A Good Man Cries, a song enjoyed since its release in August 2025 but, brought a new life and imagination when covered by Olivia Rodrigo. CMAT, in a recent Substack post, shared how this is the greatest joy for a songwriter, and opened up pockets of the song to her in brand new ways. Testament to the shared and collaborative art of music, the song took to new heights as the lilting strings paralleled the Rodrigo retelling, and the crowd coo-ed like proud mothers for our CMAT, whose talent is hitting the mainstream. And of course, giving us a chance to scream out for our favourite ‘Dunboyne Diana!’
The rounded country sound from the strings, practiced guitar and driving drums of the very sexy CMAT band, propels her pop to a whole other stratosphere. CMAT relates that, whilst writing the latest record, she lost touch with reality, left without a tether back; usually writing with a musical reference point however, Euro Country was built from something entirely different, and you can hear this in every inch of the record; unique, yet not fully new, instead pulling from everywhere and everything. With pop songs interlaced with grief; grief for a friend, and grief over a life expected, not sadness as such but the underpinning of truth even in the avant-garde which CMAT creates.
The pace slowed as we reached the request section of the evening. After some back and forth with the front row, sporting ‘Justice4Rodney’ tops, CMAT decided she remembered enough of the pre-first-album single to give it a go. The innate stage presence and musical talent of the band was evident, it didn’t appear a single beat was missed as they brought the experienced performance of today to early CMAT musings, as justice was indeed given to Rodney. Our final request was Coronation Street, a country-clad melancholic number, a mood not held for long as we barrelled into Ah, Shoot! As ever, taking us from heartbreaking to haphazard-happiness without a whispering of clunkiness.
This upbeat energy brought us to the anticipated, Take A Sexy Picture Of Me. Despite thousands of adoring fans, such as those filling out the Open Air Theatre, over the last few years CMAT has received a slew of hate online for her appearance. Diabolical, if you ask anyone with a beating heart! Yet, what was born of this horror was the absolute mastery that is Take A Sexy Picture Of Me; an absolute fan-favourite, when the distinct strings of the opening hit, the crowd were alive ready to belt out the anthem of women everywhere. She asks ‘take a sexy picture of me… and make me look fifteen’ , an unbridled exploration of the lunacy of female beauty standards. Her lyrics are endlessly witty and pin-point relatable, ‘a little spot that can’t be lifted, on my left hand, dig in like a car key’; it’s these viscerally specific moments that tie us together and her bombastic performance that secures her in our hearts. And, if the song didn’t stand up on its own, the dance to the lines ‘I did the butcher, I did the baker’ of the bridge, brought it to an unforgettable moment in the evening, with CMAT calling to her band to bring the bridge back for a dance encore – as putting a cap on joy doesn’t seem to be CMAT’s style. Imagine alchemising such a personally painful time into the most joyous performance for yourself, and the thousands of people in the crowd too!
At this point CMAT took the time to introduce her Very-Sexy CMAT Band. On top form, as ever, and vibrant characters on stage in their own right. We had Holly Carpenter (fiddles and vocals), Hannah Morgan (drums), Daniel Vildosola (pedal steel and guitar), Jack Wolter (guitar) and William Bishop (bass). But CMAT forgot someone! Oh-so-shy (he has been high-kicking over his keys most of the show) Colm Canlan. The only plausible way for CMAT to say sorry for her blunder is, of course, to invite Canlan for a melodramatic, camp-tastic duet of Where Are Your Kids Tonight. An absolutely heartbreaking song, brought to the masses in a sardonic rendition, filled with choreographed dance breaks and faux-snogs yet somehow still showcasing CMAT’s supremely unique, powerful vocals and song writing prowess. CMAT’s ability to intersect the devastating with the daft is utterly singular; it’s this earnest authenticity across the full spectrum of emotions that has made her an icon.
Performing every song we could wish for, CMAT also made time to engage with the audience, reacting to signs and engaging with the Scarborough-ness of it all, donning the red TK Maxx bucket hat – an iconic fixture of this years’ Open Air Theatre shows. These moments made it Scarborough’s show; tangible manifestations of how devoted CMAT is to making these performances special for her audience, and the wonder this energy creates on the night.
The band then took their leave, just for a few songs, as we came to the most vulnerable portion of the evening, CMAT bringing deep-cuts, accompanied only by her acoustic guitar. Pulling from Crazymad, for Me, the most musically and emotionally sombre of the albums, CMAT played Such A Miranda and Rent. The perfect pit stop of emotion. Punctuating the night of energetic performances, letting the raw singularity of these moments stand true. It was between these two mournful explorations of love and loss that CMAT whispered to the tech crew that a surprise that was about to come, as even within these songs that call for a revival of internal grief, she was still so acutely aware of her crowd and how to make this the show of a life-time.
As the band re-entered the stage they were joined by Monty – a teenager donning a sign that read ‘Guitar on Euro Country?’ He had been waving it from the rafters and now joined the CMAT band for one of her most personal and poignant works; Euro Country. The song begins in the Irish language, a prerequisite to the complex exploration of the proudness and sadness she feels for Ireland, her home. Perhaps the most potent example of how CMAT has carved her experiences and confusion into something that questions the world on this accessible level. ‘I was 12 when the das started killing themselves all around me’ is a lyric unexpected in a pop-song, but if the last two hours of CMAT have taught us anything, it is that the merging of truthful, tough experience and sincere sharing, makes for the most striking art.
The teen absolutely smashed his guitar part and was met with proud chants of ‘Monty!’ bellowing through the theatre. The chants morph into a drum backed ‘Yorkshire!’, after a failed attempt during the acoustic set; in true CMAT-ian style voguing around the stage, Yorkshire flag in hand to our (far from tuneful) chants.
With the energy growing by the minute, CMAT and her Very-Sexy CMAT Band moved into the finale, calling us to two-step our way through I Wanna Be A Cowboy, a song that for many was our gateway into CMAT obsession. How to end this absolute rollicking set? She landed on Stay For Something; a song with such a screaming release of emotion that allowed CMAT, the band, and the audience to put every ounce of themselves into it. Screaming ‘I just can’t do it!’ with our croaky, well battered voices, as CMAT ran through the crowd for our final chorus, the OAT well and truly alive with her energy and the night’s madness.
With her and the Very-Sexy CMAT Band’s final bow, Carly Simon’s You’re So Vain filled the air, a gentle pull-out from the CMAT bubble and back to reality. Yet it felt like we all stood still for a while, drunk from CMAT’s absolute mastery of the stage and songs that rip you open and put you right back together. It was a slow, dazed trudge of euphoria as the crowd filtered out of the venue, wondering what could ever top tonight.
For more TK Maxx presents Scarborough Open Air Theatre concerts, visit their website.
