Best Rio de Janeiro Clubs, Parties, and Live Music in 2015

By Chesney Hearst, Senior Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Rio de Janeiro is a city that is well known for hosting events and while the famous Carnival celebrations have wrapped up for the year, the parties continue nightly throughout town. From clubs to bars, to pubs to venues small, medium and large, there are many places to check out and numerous events to look forward to during 2015.

Clubs and Parties

One of Rio’s most popular clubs is Fosfobox. Located in Copacabana, the club was voted Melhor Casa Noturna (Best House of the Night, Club) by the Prêmio Noite Rio Awards last year and promises not to disappoint partygoers in 2015.

Known to frequently welcome international guest DJs, Fosfobox also hosts many of the city’s most popular parties and in Rio the party is as important as the venue. Parties can be hosted at different locations and at Fosfobox, the schedule usually offers something for everyone.

Hip-hop and funk parties include the weekly Copa Funk Party on Wednesdays and the regular High as Sh!t, Nêga, Heavy Baile and DOOM parties. Pop and indie parties include Battles, Wake Up! and Recalcada, while dubstep, house and trap parties include Wobble and Me Gusta.

The CAVE club located in nearby Arpoador is also known to host great guest DJs and several of the same parties. Winning Best New Stage last year during the Prêmio Noite Rio awards, CAVE is also known to host some of the best nights of tech and deep house including the Treep and Jack N Bass parties.

For more house and EDM, the posh venue Miroir in Lagoa is a place to check out. More expensive than some other clubs in Rio, the guest and resident DJs plus the atmosphere, make it money well spent.

Those who are looking for a more indie feel should head to Casa da Matriz in Botafogo. Located in a two-story house complete with arcade games, a night there can feel more like a trip to a fraternity house than a club.

Weekly parties include Karaokê Indie on Wednesdays and Veneno on Thursdays while events such as Rockaway, I Love Rock and Roll, Allcool and Paranoid Android take place on a regular basis.

Lovers of rock and pop should also check out Teatro Odisséia, La Paz and Espaço Acústica. Located in Lapa, Teatro Odisséia is known to host the popular Tekiller and Oompa parties, and frequently welcomes live rock and metal bands. Centro’s Espaço Acústica is also known to host Oompa parties like the Wonka Party, which is never short on sweets. Also in Centro, La Paz is known to welcome special guest DJs and to host some of the longest running parties in the city.

In Gávea, the chic indoor/outdoor venue 00 (Zero Zero) hosts a range of parties. Weekly events include the Old is Black hip-hop parties on Thursdays, the Duo house parties on Sundays and Bem Brasil, the Rio hostels party on Tuesdays.

For more house and EDM, Barra da Tijuca’s Nuth, Praia Club in Lagoa and La Passion Club in Glória are places to visit.

Live Music – Medium-size venues

In addition to Rio’s larger live music venues which include Parque dos Atletas (which will host Rock in Rio 2015 in September), Citibank Hall, and HSBC Arena in Barra da Tijuca, Vivo Rio in Flamengo and Praça da Apoteose in Centro, Rio has medium-sized venues that host International acts and Brazilian bands and musicians.

One of the most beloved medium-sized venues in the city is Circo Voador in Lapa. Voted Best Arena de Show (Live Show Venue) during the Prêmio Noite Rio awards, the venue is known to host a variety of national and international acts.

Upcoming shows in March at Circo Voador include Brazilian rocker Pitty on the 7th, Brazilian rock band Nação Zumbi on the 13th and 14th, American Punk band NOFX on the 19th and French singer Zaz on the 20th.

Also in Lapa and next door to Circo Voador, the venue Fundição Progresso is known to welcome national and international musicians and bands throughout the year. This Friday, March 6th, the venue will welcome Dutch symphonic/heavy metal band Epica.

A new place to watch in 2015 is Sacadura 154. An event venue located in Gamboa in Rio’s revitalized Zona Portuária (Port Zone), the space is scheduled to host some notable shows during 2015.

Thanks to the help of Queremos, a Rio-based crowdfunded kickstarter, three big shows are currently scheduled for this year. Canadian singer-songwriter City and Colour will perform there live on March 14th. Australian musician Chet Faker will play on March 19th and UK band Jungle will perform on May 14th.

Live Music – Pubs, Bars, and Other

Rio’s pubs and bars are also a great place to hear live music. Every week the Lapa Irish Pub, located next to the famous Arcos da Lapa (Lapa Arches), hosts a variety of bands ranging from classic rock to blues to traditional Irish music.

In Botafogo, Saloon 79 regularly presents great live rock acts. Also in Botafogo, bands ranging from rock to experimental are known to perform at the Audio Rebel music store and at Comuna.

Bar do B in Laranjeiras regularly hosts great live blues nights and rock parties and The Clover Irish Pub in Copacabana is known to welcome live rock acts like Rio’s own MarthaV.

For Brazilian genres like samba, choro, MPB, forró, and bossa-nova there is no shortage of venues. Some notable places include Carioca da Gema and the Leviano Bar, both in Lapa, as well as Rio Scenarium in Centro, The Maze in Catete, Trapiche Gamboa in the neighborhood of Gamboa and the weekly rodas da samba at Pedra do Sal.

The venues and events listed above are by no means all that Rio has to offer in 2015. Throughout the year, be sure to watch The Rio Times Nightlife Guide for daily listings of events hosted throughout the city.