Ahead of Brazil’s Saint John festivities, the captivating genre of forró is more alive than ever and is connecting with wider and more diverse audiences outside its birthplace.
By 2024, after more than two decades as a forró superstar, Xand Avião began to feel like he was losing his grip on the Brazilian public. What stung the most was the lack of enthusiasm from crowds in the Northeastern region, his homeland. It was a wake-up call. “It had been a while since I saw people really dancing forró in my concerts,” he confessed during a press conference ahead of Brazil’s São João (Saint John) season, the country’s massive Catholic festivity in June. “But the problem wasn’t the audience—it was me.”
After years of leaning into electronic production and chasing fusions with trending genres such as arrocha and sertanejo, Xand hit reset. He reintroduced brass instruments (hallmarks of the forró style he helped define in the early 2000s with the band Aviões do Forró) and built a setlist around classic and contemporary forró staples. The result? A show that was voted the best of Campina Grande’s São João festival at the music outlet G1, and, more importantly, brought back what Xand wanted the most: to see the crowd dancing forró once again.
Characterized by its driving triangle, zabumba drum, and accordion arrangements, forró is more than just a musical genre. It’s a cultural emblem of Brazil’s Northeast, a region historically and archetypically defined by arid backland landscapes and cowboys. It also fuels the sonic heartbeat of São João, a festival season that rivals Carnival in cultural impact and scale and turns cities like Campina Grande, Caruaru, and São Luís into tourist destinations. In 2023, forró was officially recognized by federal law as an essential expression of Brazil’s national identity.
Like samba or lambada, forró comes with its own dance steps. It’s meant to be danced in pairs, and it’s one of Brazil’s most beloved dances. That’s likely why Xand Avião was so unsettled by the audience’s disconnection. If forró is playing and there are no couples getting together to dance to forró’s typical “two steps to one side, two steps to another side” beat, then something’s wrong.
Forró’s Resurgence
Things shifted when Xand Avião re-embraced the genre’s roots. And he’s not alone. A broader movement is underway, not only reviving forró anthems like Luiz Gonzaga’s “Asa Branca” (1949), but also recontextualizing the “new classics” from the 1990s and 2000s.
This resurgence includes a reevaluation of forró eletrônico, the synth-heavy subgenre once mocked in Brazil’s urban South for its campy band names—Mastruz com Leite, Cavalo de Pau, etc. Today, artists such as Xand and Wesley Safadão proudly acknowledge those early influences. These bands’ songs are now celebrated for telling stories of the social struggles of the poor, neglected Northeastern people in the backlands and their romance and cultural traditions.
Meanwhile, younger Northeastern acts like Joyce Alane—raised in a digital-first landscape and often associated more with Brazil’s alt-pop wave than with traditional forró—are launching projects that frame the genre in contemporary formats. Their music feels fresh, yet rooted; palatable to new audiences without diluting its regional soul.
As the 2025 São João season draws near, forró fans and musicians reassess the genre’s importance after years of almost letting it fade into commercial hybridism. In recent years, forró artists shared space in São João parties’ lineups with genres that share little to no connection with forró and Northeastern culture, such as baile funk.
So just when some were ready to write forró’s history off, the genre proves there are still people to fight for it – and more importantly, people who will never get tired of dancing to it.
Jota.pê, João Gomes, and Mestrinho Show Forró’s Universal Pull in
“Dominguinho”
João Gomes has already cemented his status as one of Brazil’s biggest piseiro stars and one of the most versatile and well-connected young artists. He turned those skills into a creative superpower, and one of the outcomes of it is Dominguinho, named after the legendary forró musician Dominguinhos. The project brings together an unexpected but perfectly calibrated trio: Gomes himself, singer-songwriter Jota.pê, and acclaimed accordionist Mestrinho. While Jota.pê is the least acquainted with the genre, his presence blends smoothly and gives pop credit to the project, showcasing the adaptability of forró melodies and lyrics.
The seeds of Dominguinho were sown in Miami during the 2024 Latin Grammys. It was there that João Gomes met Jota.pê, while Mestrinho also introduced Gomes to a bunch of other names, as Gomes told PopMatters. At the end of the night, Jota.pê took home three trophies, and Mestrinho took one. Gomes did not leave empty-handed: he gained two collaborators for one of the most celebrated projects of 2025.
Dominguinho reunites original songs and covers of pop/MPB hits, all of which favor the typical forró instrumentals in acoustic style.
Wesley Safadão Brings the Heat with “Bem-Vindo ao Meu Mundo – Forró e Vaquejada”
Wesley Safadão has long been an icon in the forró world. During the boom of romantic forró eletrônico in the 2000s, he was the lead singer of the band Garota Safada and wore a long, heavy metal-star hairstyle. After going solo, he faced backlash for diluting the band’s sound with pop, funk, and sertanejo overtones. But with Bem-Vindo ao Meu Mundo – Forró e Vaquejada (“Welcome to my world – Forró and Vaquejada”), Safadão is back to his forró eletrônico roots.
The album’s 24-track project reunites old and new icons of forró eletrônico and consists of a non-stop, high-energy setlist of covers, in the style of forró concerts where there’s little silence and all songs are connected, like an hour-long medley. It’s a tribute to forró but also the vaquejada, the rodeo-like sport that is a part of Brazil’s Northeastern culture. Bem-Vindo ao Meu Mundo – Forró e Vaquejada is a return to form and a reassertion of identity.
Joyce Alane Softens the Edges of Forró on Casa Coração
Joyce Alane’s 2024 album Tudo é minha culpa landed on PopMatters’ list of the year’s best Brazilian pop albums. Now, she’s embracing her forró roots in a more obvious way with Casa Coração, an EP made of six forró covers and one original song written by Alane herself, “Proibido notícia”.
Despite the forró-founded instrumentals, the melodies and vocals bring the delicateness typical of Alane’s compositions, contrasting with her potent voice, which recalls matriarchs of Brazilian Northeastern music like Elba Ramalho. It’s a refreshing reminder that forró isn’t just made for dancing but also for feeling.