Coachella star condemns ICE raids in defiant stage address

WorldMusic
11 Apr 2026 • 11:08 PM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

Coachella star condemns ICE raids in defiant stage address

CMAT spoke out against United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids during her Coachella performance on Friday (10 April).

The Irish artist, whose third album EURO-COUNTRY was shortlisted for the 2025 Mercury Prize, took to the Gobi stage as the California music festival kicked off.

Before performing her hit "I Wanna Be a Cowboy, Baby!," CMAT, whose full name is Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, told the crowd: "Please do not let them convince you that people dying or being ripped away from their family in the name of country or capital is anything other than an abhorrent waste of life.

"We only get one go around. And I don't want us to waste it. ICE f***ing out, and free Palestine."