It’s been a minute since Rachel Chinouriri last played a headline show in her home city, something she noted onstage at Shoreditch Town Hall on Wednesday night (June 3). “I realized I hadn’t done a London show, I think, in over a year. I was worried that maybe nobody would come tonight,” she admitted with a laugh, acknowledging her time away. “Thank you so much for being amazing, and reminding me that you guys are so special.”
Performing in the music program for 2026’s SXSW London, the show provided the British star a moment of reconnection with her Darlings — the name affectionately given to her fans — following two years of being booked and extremely busy. Chinouriri, however, is not a musician that is easily forgotten.
Following the release of 2024’s critically acclaimed debut What a Devastating Turn of Events, Chinouriri cemented her status as one of the U.K.’s standout young songwriters, placing her alongside musical peers like CMAT and Holly Humberstone. A stellar collection of emotive indie packed with smart hooks, the LP soared in a live setting, be that on her own headline tours across the U.K. and U.S., or during a run of high-profile support gigs with superstars including Florence + the Machine and Sabrina Carpenter. The Croydon-raised artist will continue her hot streak when she joins Gracie Abrams as a support act on her upcoming arena jaunt. New music on the horizon will only bolster her reputation.
But, for now, it was about renewing the 27-year-old’s connection with her fans, and her performance was both a triumphant return to performing in the capital and a showcase of the musical diversity and strength of SXSW’s music programming. These were the best moments from the show.
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The stage presence was unmatched
From the moment Chinouriri launched into opener “Garden of Eden,” her stage presence was undeniable. Treating the intimate surroundings of Shoreditch Town Hall like an arena or stadium (places she has become familiar with) she boasted the mic stand moves of a rockstar, while industrial fans were positioned either side of the stage for optimal hairography. Chinouriri is a performer who relishes the stage; when she took moments to survey the crowd, their fervor was topped only by her own joy.
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New era loading
The evening featured a special treat for fans in the form of the unreleased track “AAAHHH!!!” First included in the setlist when Rachel supported Florence + the Machine on tour earlier this year, “AAAHHH!!!” has been sneaking its way into her performances for the past few months. Boasting elements of new wave and jangling alt-pop, it draws new influences into Chinouriri’s music, evoking bands like The Cure. Chinoruri was only too keen to tease new material: “I’ve been in L.A. for three months this year,” she told the crowd about her sophomore LP. “I was worried about forgetting lyrics, but it’s because I’ve been writing some things…,” she teased.
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A love letter to her fans
“To every single person in this room, I love you all,” Chinouriri told the audience ahead of “So My Darling,” one of her breakthrough hits. It’s a song that’s been with her for over a decade, and it has morphed into a tender celebration of her fans and their journey. “To make something like this [show] happen, and to spend this night with you, I will always be grateful, whether it’s just one of you, five of you, I will always be so grateful, because there was me at 17 making a song wondering where the song would take me, and I didn’t think it’d get me here.”
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Main character energy
There are some lines in live shows that become a meme-ish moment, with punters ready and waiting to scream back a specific lyric at the top of their lungs: Whether it’s belting “Blah, blah, blah!” during Laufey’s “From the Start”, or screaming “Useless!” during Sabrina Carpenter’s “Manchild”. The latest edition to that list? Chinouriri’s “Can We Talk About Isaac?”, which earned a huge shout-a-long of: “He’s so perfect, God, I hate him”.
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A perfect finale
Following a short and sweet introduction for “All I Ever Asked” (“in a roundabout way, just to sum up the story: delete Hinge, it’s terrible!”) Rachel launched into her penultimate tune, a powerhouse single that sounds even better with an audience singing back the “Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo” riff, followed by the zippy “Never Need Me”, a slice of indie that demands undivided attention.
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