CMAT, John Grant and BICEP take over All Together Now
Tommy Tiernan at the Something Kind of Wonderful Tent, Saturday, August 2, 2025.
Saturday at All Together Now had a lineup jampacked with art, comedy, dance and music.
For some, it was physically and logistically impossible to get to every act you'd want to see (CMAT clashing with Cosha/ Emmy Shigeta clashing with Irish Hash Mafia) but on Saturday Waterford News and Star clocked in over 21,000 steps to get the goods.
The day began at the Something Kind of Wonderful tent with the legendary Tommy Tiernan performing to thousands. His set was a wild journey of story-telling which took in Catholicism, church abuse, drugs and marriage. The show was irreverent, hilarious, and mostly unprintable in a family newspaper.
Over at The Cambium Club, Dublin-based DJ Emmy Shigeta played a splendid show in the wooden enclave. Emmy spun records from 70's and 80's era Japanese city pop, and a selection of ambient electronic music. The artist has made a name for herself over the last few years for her impeccable DJ sets and has introduced so many people to underground music.
At The Last City, hip-hop act Irish Hash Mafia played a raucous set at the packed out stage. The band and audience were in raptures together, feeding off each others' energy. Towards the end of the set, two of the artists started climbing the wooden rafters to the delight of the crowd. It wouldn't be a surprise to these lads playing on a bigger stage in the future...
John Grant played the Something Kind of Wonderful Tent to an adoring audience. The American singer-songwriter has built up a devoted following since the release of his breakthrough album 'Queen of Denmark' in 2010. The title track was covered by Sinéad O'Connor and led to a friendship between the two artists. Towards the end of his performance, alone at the piano, he said: "This one is for Sinéad. This one will always be for Sinéad." It was a beautiful, poignant tribute to the much-missed singer. The show ended with joyous performance of 'GMF', which he dedicated to the audience.
This was a big one. We barely caught our breath when it was time for CMAT and her 'big, sexy CMAT band'. The band and singer were all dressed in fabulous tie/shirt/ shorts/ Doc Martins/ uniforms. CMAT showed a lot of love for the crowd, shouting 'Up the Déise!' and getting the audience to show off their cowboy hats and boots.
The Dunboyne woman has been going from strength to strength and is about to release her hotly-anticipated third album 'Euro-Country'. New songs from the album like 'Take a Sexy Picture of Me', 'Running/ Planning' and 'The Jamie Oliver Petrol Station' had the crowd singing back every word. Throughout the show, CMAT spoke about issues important to her and how they've inspired her songwriting. One song in particular that got an emotional reception was 'Euro-Country', a paean to the kids of Ireland who saw the Celtic Tiger crash and burn. She later spoke up in support of trans rights and announced that proceeds from her merchandise would got to TENI (Transgender Equality Network of Ireland).
London Grammar took to the stage afterwards, followed by electronic dance act BICEP present Chroma. The night ended at the Groove Armada DJ set over at the Bandstand. After the electrifying set, we called it night and gave our muscles a much needed rest.
