Indie star Rachel Chinouriri shines at the OMEARA for War Child Fundraiser
The pop star took part in BRITs Week.
Photo: Aaron Parsons
Can we talk about Rachel Chinouriri? If this UK-Zimbabwean indie artist isn’t already on your radar, then you’re gonna want to read this.
“Who’s ready to scream some songs?”
Continuing BRITs Week 2025, Rachel Chinouriri performed an intimate set at the OMEARA in London, raising money for War Child alongside supporting artist Hannah Morgan.
Since starting their mission in 2009, War Child has been driven by a single purpose; to ensure a safe future for children affected by war. The event is being delivered by DHL, who have organised exclusive performances from major UK artists in cosy, intimate venues across the UK. Alongside Rachel Chinouriri, this year’s line-up includes other indie acts like Soft Play, Cat Burns and Kasabian.
Walking into the venue, it finally dawns on me how special the performance will be, for an artist with an average 2.9 million monthly streams on Spotify, the room can just about fit a few hundred people. After releasing her debut album What a Devastating Turn of Events in 2024, Rachel Chinouriri shot straight into the heart of the UK indie scene and for good reason. Her songs preach self-love and acceptance, with raw, vulnerable lyrics. She produces beautiful, dreamy songs, with smooth, emotional vocals to match.
Photo: Aaron Parsons
And don’t forget stylistic! Some of her songs contain snippets of people speaking: “OK, let’s record that,” she says in Garden of Eden, and Dumb Bitch Juice starts and ends with a radio presenter. In It Is What It Is, Rachel also slips out of her usual breathy vocals to speak candidly, as if to her ex ‘situationship’. These personal flairs give us a feel of her character within the art. The songs go from emotional and catchy to memorable, and this habit of creating stand-out moments leaks into her live performances.
Her joy at performing at the OMEARA is palpable; at one point she even breaks down in tears as she remembers when she first performed there, wondering if this would be the biggest audience she ever gets to play to, and how they now label it an ‘intimate’ show. Her emotion and passion reverberate around the OMEARA in every word. Her joy at being here tonight with us is infectious: people sway trancelike, absorbed in the aura. Emotion hangs in the air but, before it can get cloying, she switches it up, the drum beat picks up, and we can’t help but dance along with her.
If being an artist is different to being a performer, you cannot tell with Rachel. Between songs, she speaks, and we hang on every word. She explains the original meaning of songs and how they’ve evolved and changed over time, she brings two girls on stage to sing Even with her, we even do the two-step along with Rachel. And then, in an incredibly deep moment, she speaks about why performing for War Child means so much to her, how war has affected her own life, and how her parents were both child soldiers in Zimbabwe.
Photo: Aaron Parsons
Rachel’s energy and passion is infectious. She delivers each song on note, moving around the stage with irresistible energy. As it draws to a close, Rachel does more than just sing our favourite songs; she tells us how she’s in a better place now, about how she’s learning to accept that these happy things have a place in her art. Looking at her on stage — feeling her positive, magnetic energy — I can’t help but feel a strange sense of second-hand happiness at the way she glows. Rachel tells us we’re in for a special treat; she’s going to perform, unreleased song for us about her new source of happiness: Can We Talk About Isaac. The song is upbeat and catchy, the whole venue dances along before she plays her final song of the night, Never Need Me.
Rachel Chinouriri is an energetic, captivating artist, with a starry future for sure. If you want an unforgettable night, I wholeheartedly recommend you catch her at her next gig! Chinouriri will be supporting Sabrina Carpenter on her UK tour in March.