Forró in the Dark

One of the most exciting bands to come out of the wild late-night scene in the East Village of New York City, Forró in the Dark combines the driving dance rhythms of forró from Northeastern Brazil with a melting pot of rock, jazz, reggae, psychedelia, folk and more.

The collective of New York based Brazilian expats have collaborated and performed with a wide variety of artists including David Byrne, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Thom Yorke’s Atoms for Peace, Bebel Gilberto, Gal Costa and many others, and have performed at major domestic and international festivals over the course of two plus decades. The band has released four full length albums, Forro in the Dark (2003), Bonfires of Sao Joao (2006), Light A Candle (2009), and Sandcastle (2017), various singles and EPs, as well as Forro Zinho (2015’s cover record of the famous American avant-garde composer John Zorn).

NYC-based Brazilian ex-pats Forró in the Dark mix the driving beats of forró – a style of rural party music from Northeastern Brazil – with rock, psychedelia, and more into a unique musical melting pot that has attracted collaborators David Byrne, Bebel Gilberto, Angelique Kidjo, Gilberto Gil, Miho Hatori, and many others.

Photo by Vladimir Radojicic.