Xande de Pilares
“Vento” tour · Terreiro Adalu in Geneva for the first time
If you love samba, you know his songs – often without realising it. “Tá Escrito”, “Deixa Acontecer” and “Samba de Arerê” are sung in every roda de samba from Rio to Zurich. The voice behind them: Xande de Pilares, one of the greatest figures in contemporary samba.
For more than twenty years, Xande was the voice and face of Grupo Revelação, shaping the pagode carioca of the 1990s and 2000s. Since 2014 he has gone his own way – and crowned it in 2024 with a Latin Grammy: his album “Xande Canta Caetano”, a samba tribute to Caetano Veloso, won Best Samba/Pagode Album and was the only Brazilian work nominated for Album of the Year.
With the “Vento” tour, Xande is now coming to Geneva. The title track from the live project “Nos Braços do Povo” became a hit in Brazil with more than 14 million streams. On stage, Xande brings together tradition and the present: great classics, new songs and the energy of a real roda – together with his band.
Since 2017, Terreiro Adalu has been Verein Adalu's roda de samba series. After nights at Kaufleuten, Moods and Casi Casa in Zurich – with guests including Martinho da Vila, Mart’nália and Grupo Revelação – Terreiro is stopping in Geneva for the first time. A night for everyone who loves samba, and for everyone who wants to experience it live for the first time: samba as it's lived in Rio.
Programme
7:30 pm: doors open
8:30 pm: Xande de Pilares concert
Key facts
When: Thursday, March 4, 2027, 8:30 pm (doors open 7:30 pm)
Where: Salle de l’Alhambra, Rue de la Rôtisserie 10, 1204 Geneva
Tickets: from CHF 76.80 at Ticketcorner
Who it's for: samba and pagode fans, the Brazilian community in Switzerland and anyone who wants to discover live music from Brazil
Organiser: Terreiro Adalu / Verein Adalu
Xande de Pilares
Xande de Pilares, born Alexandre Silva de Assis in 1969 in Rio de Janeiro, grew up in the samba of the city's suburbs – his stage name recalls the Pilares neighbourhood. As singer and co-founder of Grupo Revelação, he became one of the defining voices of pagode carioca; songs like “Tá Escrito”, “Deixa Acontecer” and “Samba de Arerê” are still classics in every roda de samba. After leaving Grupo Revelação in 2014, Xande launched a successful solo career with albums such as “Esse Menino Sou Eu” and “O Mundo é Nosso”. As a composer, he also writes sambas-enredo for Rio's major samba schools. International recognition came with “Xande Canta Caetano” (2023), in which he translates the work of Caetano Veloso into samba and pagode: the album won the 2024 Latin Grammy for Best Samba/Pagode Album and was the only Brazilian work nominated for Album of the Year. With the live series “Nos Braços do Povo” and the hit “Vento”, Xande is now writing the next chapter – and bringing the “Vento” tour to Europe.
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