CMAT has pulled out of her main stage act at the Latitude festival in solidarity with Palestine as Israel continues its brutal war on Gaza. The bisexual Irish singer-songwriter shared that she made the decision because Barclays Bank is the festival’s headline sponsor.
In her statement posted to Instagram, CMAT shared that Barclays “increased their financing of various companies who are supplying weapons and military technology to Israel. Specifically it has invested over 100 Million into General Dynamics which provides gun systems to the fighter jets which are being used by Israel to bombard Gaza.”
She added that she had notified Latitude of her decision weeks ago and hoped the festival would “divest from Barclays or find another sponsor,” but since that has not happened, CMAT affirmed that she would not allow her music “to get into bed with violence.”
The UK’s Palestine Solidarity Campaign is urging everyone to boycott Barclays, a company which has provided over £6 billion in financial services to companies that sell weapons to Israel.
CMAT considered going ahead with the act and donating her fee, but explained: “it honestly just isn’t what the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement is asking me to do, and I could never claim to know more than them.”
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While she is devastated by the decision, CMAT hopes to play at the festival again in the future under a different sponsor.
She addressed her fans, saying she hopes they understand and that she hopes to make it up to them in the future. She ended her statement with: “Boycott Barclays. Free Palestine. Lots of love, CMAT.”
Many fans who were looking forward to the gig have already shared their support over CMAT’s decision to pull out of Latitude, saying: “You’re on the right side of history.”
Others commented: “I wish more acts were as epic and this just makes me love you more,” and, “Well done! The more musicians and artists who do this, the more event promotors will make the effort to find ethical sponsors going forward.”
In April, musicians and music industry professionals formed the Bands Boycott Barclays group to encourage music lovers to “stand in solidarity with Palestine by boycotting all music festivals partnered with Barclays.”
Latitude is one of the UK’s biggest festivals, and earlier this month Pillow Queens also pulled out of the festival, sharing that: “As a band we believe that artistic spaces should be able to exist without being funded by morally corrupt investors.”
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Over 36,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its genocidal military offensive in the Gaza Strip following the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. Many fled their homes to avoid airstrikes, and estimates show that 90% of the population in the Strip has been displaced.
Earlier this month, the Israeli army started a series of assaults on Rafah, a small city where many Palestinians fled after Israel ordered civilians to evacuate south. An estimated 1.5 million people are now living there in tent camps and makeshift shelters after fleeing the bombardments.
CMAT recently released her second album, Crazymad, For Me, and she’ll be performing a headline show in Dublin’s Fairview Park on June 13.
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