Concert Review: Brooklyn Steel Was Rocked by the Asteroid That is CMAT

Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, best known by her acronym, CMAT, is one of country-pop’s

rapidly rising stars. After two incredible Coachella sets the month prior, it was only fitting that

the Dunboyne, Ireland native paid one of New York’s greatest cities a visit. With a first night at

the Brooklyn Paramount and a second night at Brooklyn Steel, both shows were a sold-out

success. Rock DNA was there for both, and covered Brooklyn Steel.

Sauntering onstage, the spotlight fixed on her and only her, the one and only CMAT silently

struck a dramatic pose, drumstick in hand, as the screams and cheers whirled around her. CMAT,

the queen of serving face, was quite used to this; she knew it was just the thing to make the

crowd go wild. Her fans live for these iconic CMAT moments and CMAT, in turn, loves to

indulge them.

With no acknowledgement, with no words spoken, she continued to hold her stance, as if she

were on her very own runway. And in a sense, she was. Ever louder, the crowd continued their

deafening vocal applause, ready and waiting. After what seemed like hours, it happened. The

drums kicked up, and she began:

“Another good idea!”

“Tree Six Five,” the fifth track off the acclaimed, and Ivors-won, Euro-Country, was exactly the

right choice for an opening. Upbeat and brash, it was the perfect pick to launch the venue into the

requisite CMAT communal singalong, one that doesn’t end until she leaves the stage. When she

theatrically hit the cowbell, the roar of the crowd could have burst the dam of sound.

Everything about CMAT sparks and flares, a firework that can’t help bursting over and over

again, long after losing its initial bloom. She’s infectious, a virus that one cannot help but catch,

and her legions of devoted fans testify to this, spanning the globe.

A CMAT show isn’t just about the music. It offers comedy, witticisms, and skits. At one point,

CMAT instructed two of the members of the hilarious and wildly talented Very Sexy CMAT

Band, keyboardist Colm Conlon and violinist/ fiddle player Holly Carps, to act out an

interpretive portrayal of a given situation by CMAT, one that differs each show. In another

notable moment, while performing her hit, “The Jaime Oliver Petrol Station,” CMAT pretends to

be mean to someone in the audience. CMAT herself, of course, is quite apologetic, allowing the

chosen fan a warning before delivering the fatal blow; jest abounds in a CMAT show, and fans

love every minute of it.

The music itself is extraordinary; between the energy of CMAT and her Very Sexy CMAT Band

were the crisp vocals, the warm, heart-swelling harmonies, and nonstop pumping adrenaline, she

manages to be everywhere at once, thrilling the crowd. Playing songs off her three LPs, 2022’s If

My Wife Knew I’d Be Dead, 2023’s Crazymad, For Me, and 2025’s Euro-Country, CMAT

provided something for everyone.

Performing her very first hit, and the night’s penultimate song, “I Wanna Be a Cowboy, Baby,”

CMAT commanded the audience to do what she calls the “Dunboyne County Meath Two-Step,”

which is much more like a one-step in practice. Every single person in the audience read the

assignment long ago and knew was about to occur:

“What do you want to be?!” CMAT cried out.

“A COWBOY!” The audience yelled back.

Picture this: at Brooklyn Steel, 1800 lucky fans, the venue’s max capacity, two-stepped together.

In and of itself, that was admittedly impressive. But the night prior, at the Brooklyn Paramount,

3,000 CMAT fans, from the floor to the balcony, all two-stepped as one, a vast sea of moving

people. And what happened next was even better: “Stay for Something.”

CMAT fans know that once this song ends, she comes into the crowd to sing one last chorus on

the ground with her fans. Immediately, room was hastily made, with the crowd parting to catch a

glimpse of her and hopefully, to get one of the coveted hugs she happily doles out.

This is the happiest part of a CMAT show. With fans singing, grinning, laughing, and enraptured

by the sheer chaos of the night, they each leave with a memory and the knowledge that soon,

they will see her again.