CMAT to step away from live performances in 2027

Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, better known as CMAT, has announced that in 2027 she will step away from live performances due to her battle with exhaustion. On an episode of the Sidetracked podcast, the Irish singer-songwriter told host Annie MacManus about how her busy touring schedule had taken its toll. 

Opening up, CMAT said, "I’d love the concept of a holiday to be introduced to me at some point in my life. You are in control of your own career, but unfortunately you also, as a musician, make a lot of plans about one-and-a-half years ahead of time that you can’t get out of.

The 2027 hiatus will also include CMAT taking a break from recording new music in 2027.

Explaining her carving out a rare stretch of downtime later this year, CMAT said: "I have a month off in October now, because I’m so close to burnout that we decided to just do one week of Austin City Limits. So I get the whole month of October off, so I’m thinking of going somewhere." Continuing, she said, "I’m not doing any live music next year. The next calendar year, of 2027, I’m not performing any live music at all. I don’t know if I was supposed to say that, but that’s what’s happening. And I don’t care – you can come fight me if you want."

Having been on tour for the past six years, even when not touring, the singer-songwriter expressed how she has not been resting.  This will see Primavera Sound São Paulo in December as her final show of 2026. Her other upcoming dates include sets at Electric Picnic, Rock En Seine, End Of The Road and Lollapalooza.

"I’m literally losing my mind – and I don’t stop.” She explained that in any “three-to-four-month period off” in the past six years, she had used this downtime to make a new record. I was like a gremlin chained to the mixing desk being like, ‘I have to make a good album!’" 

The singer has been playing some of her "biggest shows ever" this year in support of her acclaimed third album, 2025’s 'Euro-Country'. This also saw the 30-year-old star headline a concert at Dublin’s St Anne’s Park this May, and a show at London’s Alexandra Palace in March, as well as some major festival appearances at Coachella, TRNSMT, Mad Cool, Bilbao BBK Live (where she performed with Robbie Williams) and more.

To find out more information, as well as catch the last run of CMAT for 2026, click here.

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Header image credit: CMAT / Facebook.com