From Gatekeepers to Storytellers: How the Women Behind Chiltern Firehouse’s Legendary Guest List Are Rewriting London’s Nightlife
When a fire tore through Chiltern Firehouse on Valentine’s Day this year, it didn’t just shutter one of London’s most iconic destinations – it left a void in the city’s social soul. The hotel’s Laddershed bar had long been a glittering crucible of A-list celebrities, industry titans, cultural tastemakers, and impossibly stylish out-of-towners. Now, the scene’s heart had stopped beating.
Don McLean once sang “the day the music died” about Buddy Holly’s untimely demise in a plane crash. For London’s elite party circuit, this was the equivalent. As memes flooded social media – socialites jetting to Chateau Marmont or seeking refuge at Hotel Costes – one truth rang clear: Chiltern Firehouse was more than a venue; it was a movement.
For Kendal Barrett and Anna Howell, the duo behind Chiltern’s meticulously curated guest list, the fire marked a moment of both personal and professional crisis. The pair had built their reputations behind the velvet rope, carefully sculpting the energy of each night with instinct, discretion, and a masterful understanding of social chemistry. In an instant, that platform was gone.
But rather than stall, Barrett and Howell pivoted. From the ashes of the Firehouse, KENNA was born.
Curation Over Spectacle
KENNA is not a club, or even an event series in the traditional sense. It’s an evolving constellation of invitation-only gatherings – set on rooftops, tucked into basements, staged as one-night takeovers. What binds them isn’t location or luxury, but a philosophy: curated connection. A term the pair coined after five years orchestrating London’s most coveted social spaces.
“We realised the true magic isn’t in exclusivity – it’s in alchemy,” they explain. “It’s about mixing the right energies, not just names.”
These nights aren’t about paparazzi or performance. They’re about freedom, friction, and flow – the permission to play, and the promise of unexpected synergy. “It’s less flash, more feeling,” Howell says.
A New Social Chapter
Now anchoring a weekly residency at the Broadwick Soho – dubbed by insiders as the “Chiltern pop-up” – Barrett and Howell are once again setting the tempo of London’s nightlife. Every Thursday, a familiar cross-section of celebrities, creatives, and cultural connectors gathers, drawn by something less tangible than status: the buzz of belonging.
Though tight-lipped about guest lists, they are visibly enjoying their evolution from gatekeepers to architects of experience. “We’re no longer just opening the door,” says Barrett. “We’re building the whole room.”
Their ethos is resonating. In an era of overstimulation and hyper-curation, KENNA offers intimacy without pretension, exclusivity without elitism. It’s not just a party – it’s a platform for creative collision.
From Tables to Talk Shows
Their next chapter? A deeper dive into the minds that fill their rooms. Enter Yes (No) Maybe, a podcast born at 2AM in conversation with filmmaker Baz Luhrmann. When they asked if he’d be a guest, he vanished briefly and returned with four words: “I have an idea.”
Now, Yes (No) Maybe is set to debut live at the inaugural SXSW London this June, with Barrett and Howell once again curating not just who’s in the room – but what conversations unfold. The podcast extends their mission: championing authenticity, curiosity, and creative momentum.
Yes (No) Maybe at SXSW London:
• Becoming: On Camera, On Page, On Purpose with YouTuber Jack Edwards and actor Herman Tommeraas
June 4th 2025 | 11:15 AM – 12:00 PM | Christ Church Spitalfields | Culture Stage
A candid conversation exploring visibility, creative identity, and the power of showing up authentically – on and offline.
June 5th 2025 | 10:10 AM – 11:00 AM | Christ Church Spitalfields | Culture Stage
A live extension of Yes (No) Maybe, this talk focuses on creative redirection and the tools that help artists move through the unknown.
The Power of Presence
For Barrett and Howell, this moment is about more than nightlife – it’s about narrative. Not just who’s where, but why. Their story is one of rebirth and redefinition: from stewards of exclusivity to storytellers of a more connected, conscious social era.
“We were taught by the best,” they say. “But now we’re building something that’s ours.”
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