Few artists have captured queer life quite like Robyn. From heartbreaks and house parties to packed dancefloors at Mother, generations of LGBTQ+ people in Ireland have grown up crying, dancing, and finding solace in her songs. So when fans gathered at Dublin’s 3Arena on the night of Wednesday, June 24, the excitement in the air was unmistakable, and the occasion was made even more special when Ireland’s own CMAT joined Robyn for a surprise appearance.

Standing silhouetted behind a translucent curtain and lit by a spotlight, the Swedish icon looked almost mythic. Thousands of phones shot up at once. The roar that followed made it clear Dublin had been waiting a long time for this. 

Opening with ‘Blow My Mind’, Robyn instantly reminded the crowd why she holds such a unique place in pop culture. For more than two decades, she has mastered the art of making people dance through heartbreak, and Wednesday’s show felt like a celebration of that very gift. 

The set leaned heavily on her latest album, Sexistential, yet it was far from a simple album tour. New songs like ‘Talk to Me’, ‘Dopamine’, ‘Really Real’, and the title track fit seamlessly beside fan favourites such as ‘Honey’, ‘Ever Again’, and the euphoric ‘With Every Heartbeat’, showing that Robyn remains as magnetic and inventive as ever. 

Visually, the show was graceful in its simplicity. Huge sheer drapes fell from the ceiling, forming a dreamlike backdrop that shifted through the night, while dramatic lighting turned the vast 3Arena into something that often felt surprisingly intimate.

Robyn moved across the stage in a series of bold looks, mixing leather, bodysuits, and asymmetrical designs in a way only she can. One of the night’s most striking moments came when glitter rained down on her, turning an already cinematic performance into something truly magical. 

There were plenty of emotional highs throughout the night. ‘Love Is Free’ turned the 3Arena into one massive dancefloor, while songs like ‘Love Kills’ and ‘Sucker for Love’ showed Robyn’s rare gift for turning heartbreak, desire, and fragility into pure pop euphoria.

But it was the encore that lifted an already brilliant show into something unforgettable. 

As Robyn returned to the stage for ‘Missing U’, few could have guessed what was coming. When the opening notes of ‘Call Your Girlfriend‘ began and CMAT appeared beside her, Dublin completely lost it. Fresh from supporting Lewis Capaldi in Marlay Park earlier that evening, CMAT joining Robyn felt like witnessing a real pop culture moment.

Robyn once told us to “tell her that you’ve met someone new” in ‘Call Your Girlfriend’, and for one perfect encore in Dublin, that someone turned out to be CMAT. As CMAT left and Robyn launched into ‘Dancing on My Own’, not a single person in the 3Arena stood still. Every word was shouted back at her by a crowd that has spent years finding comfort, heartbreak, and joy in her music. It was loud, emotional, and at times, deeply moving. 

Nobody in Dublin was dancing on their own that night.

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