Rachel Chinouriri’s Sold-Out Show in Chicago is a Triumphant Moment

This past Tuesday night, Rachel Chinouriri packed Metro with a sold-out show. As the crowd waited in anticipation for our Queen from across the pond, whoever was on Aux cued Djo’s “End of Beginning.” While playing this song would be the “right call” at any point during any gathering in Chicago, the crowd’s unified belting set the tone for the rest of the night: this was to be, from start to finish, a communal event.

Coming down from opening for Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet tour, it became clear why these two stars would be the perfect pair; Sabrina’s often teasy, playful, and yet confidently striking ways were also apparent in Rachel herself. The London lady danced her way across the stage after her band in her cheetah print, a hot pink skirt, and platform boots. She asserted herself as the powerhouse that her performance proved her to be, but also asserted herself dispositionally with her stage presence – the disposition that being a Black woman in this indie genre has required her to become.

Having been a fan of hers since I first heard “So, My Darling” in college those years ago, I would have never guessed the fight it took for Rachel to be there in front of me – a battle that she touched on during this performance. Rachel is indubitably a natural talent. It was witnessed in her vocal range, her dancing, her natural charm, and her song writing.

Yet, she made it clear to the crowd that ability does not always provide access to opportunity. Being a Black woman in this genre proved itself to be difficult for Rachel. This was a career she had to fight for, and everyone in that crowd last night was thankful that she did. She claimed that they “tried to stop me, and they did not win,” as the crowd erupted in cheers and rahs. The platform boots then not only established themselves as a killer stylistic choice, but a symbol for the space she has had to fight for in her career. She, using her personal life as a testament, reminded us to also not let anyone get in the way of our aspirations in the same way she didn’t. But, luckily, the affirmations didn’t stop there.

The one that stuck with my roommate and I was that “we can’t overspend love,” and when the crowd wanted to boo when Rachel admitted that “So, My Darling” was about an unrequited love, she stopped us and outwardly thanked that love for missing her. If not, she wouldn’t have her “perfect” boyfriend Isaac nor would we have had that wonderfully gushy song to dance to that she dropped about him.

Much like this night, Rachel’s newest album the tour takes after holds space for you wherever you find yourself entering from. What a Devastating Turn of Events offers room for us to mourn, to dance, to yearn, or to explore. This crowd was one of the most diverse I had yet to see from Metro, and the range of experiences that Rachel’s artistry engages with allowed for that. She was on stage, but it didn’t just feel like she was singing for us the whole time.

For a large part of it, she was singing with us because she knows these narratives are also ours: the crushing, the sorrow. We’ve all been there, and i’m so thankful we all had the chance to be there, on Clark Street.

Check out photos of Rachel’s opener, Alemeda: