Xande de Pilares
The voice of Brazilian samba live at Volkshaus Zurich
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 – with more than 1.5 billion streams and a Latin Grammy: his album “Xande Canta Caetano”, a samba tribute to Caetano Veloso, won Best Samba/Pagode Album in 2024 and was the only Brazilian work nominated for Album of the Year.
With the “Vento” tour, Xande is now coming to Zurich. 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, his biggest solo hits and the energy of a real roda – together with his band.
Kaufleuten and Adalu have been bringing the big names of samba to Zurich together for years – most recently Grupo Revelação. Due to space, the concert takes place at Volkshaus Zürich on Helvetiaplatz. Tip: with the seated package, you enjoy dinner at Restaurant Kaufleuten beforehand and have a reserved premium seat in the gallery – the two venues are a 15-minute walk apart.
Programme
6 pm: Restaurant Kaufleuten opens (dinner with seated package)
7 pm: Doors open at Volkshaus
8 pm: Xande de Pilares concert
approx. 10 pm: End
Tickets
Standing: CHF 70
Standing, reduced (students, KulturLegi, IV): CHF 60
Gallery seat: CHF 95
Seated package with 2-course dinner at Restaurant Kaufleuten: CHF 145
Key facts
When: Friday, March 5, 2027, 8 pm (doors 7 pm)
Where: Volkshaus Zürich, Stauffacherstrasse 60, 8004 Zurich
Tickets: from CHF 60, no fees at Kaufleuten
Who it's for: samba and pagode fans, the Brazilian community in Switzerland and anyone who wants to discover live music from Brazil
Organisers: Kaufleuten Kultur and Restaurant Kaufleuten in collaboration with 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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