Birmingham Utilita Arena, UK 

Opening for the UK leg of Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet tour, the glowing Rachel Chinouriri, has been leaving a trail of new fans after every show. We attended the Birmingham stop of Miss Carpenter’s show on Thursday, March 6th, at the Utilita Arena. Here is our rundown. 

Rachel is a vibrant performer. She has immense control over the crowd, even one that’s not hers, in the same way talented pre-school teachers can make kids stand to action with a snap of a finger. She even had the whole floor doing a cheeky two-step dance with her, she was THAT good. 

We knew immediately that she was going to be a star. 

From the second she hopped on stage; she had the crowd’s full attention. Starting her set with Garden of Eden, with its beautiful instrumental and heartfelt lyrics. It was a really good way to give the audience a taste of her less pop-y songs before she jumped into songs like It Is What It Is and Can We Talk About Isaac, which are more upbeat and classically pop, with a reminiscent British feel that make you think of music from the mid to late noughties.  

Rachel slowed it down again with So My Darling, Sabrina fans quickly picking up on the vibe and raising their phone torches to bathe Rachel in what looked like a sea of stars as she sang this beautiful tribute to old love. 

To note, on the screens behind Miss Chinouriri her music videos played as she sang, so fans were surprised when Florence Pugh and Queen Charlotte Star Freddie Dennis featured in the Never Need Me music video. We noticed the people around us whispering about the star-studded video as Rachel owned the stage. They were probably thinking, ‘Why the frick have we not heard of this girl before?’, or so we’d like to think. 

During her set, Rachel excitedly shared that her new music is coming out soon. Little House EP out on April 4^th 2025. We will be streaming.