CMAT pulls out of main stage slot at Latitude Festival

CMAT has announced that she is pulling out of a main stage performance at this year’s Latitude Festival in Suffolk in the UK due to its affiliation with Barclays Bank.

In a statement posted to Instagram, the Irish singer-songwriter said that Barclays Bank, one of the sponsors of Latitude, has “increased their financing of various companies who are supplying weapons and military technology to Israel.”

CMAT joins Pillow Queens as the latest Irish act to have pulled out of the festival which takes place in Henham Park in Suffolk from 25 to 28 July. Headliners for the 2024 festival include Duran Duran, Kasabian, Keane and London Grammar.

Speaking about her decision to pull out of the festival, CMAT said, “I made Latitude aware of what my decision would be weeks ago, but was hoping that with all of the press surrounding the brave artists who pulled out of The Great Escape festival for the same reasons, that Latitude would divest from Barclays or find another sponsor.

“This has not happened and it has been made clear to me that it will not happen. As such I am now officially pulling out. I will not allow my precious work, my music, which I love so much, to get into bed with violence.”

The singer added that she is “utterly devastated” to have to pull out from the line-up as she loves Latitude having been given one of her first “big festival slots” back in 2021.

“I had been looking forward to a full circle moment this slot would have given me, the band, and my fans. I really hope to play this festival again in the future under different circumstances and under a different sponsor,” she added.

The announcement follows a major boycott of The Great Escape in Brighton due to the festival’s ties to Barclays, with over a third of acts on the line-up pulling out.

Latitude Festival organisers have been contacted for comment.

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