Rio de Janeiro Nightlife Guide for Saturday, February 28, 2026

The consagrado singer-composer and guitarist brings his “Tudo é Bossa” show to the Blue Note’s intimate Copacabana stage for two sessions. Celso Fonseca has spent three decades at the intersection of bossa nova and contemporary Brazilian guitar — collaborations with everyone from David Byrne to Gal Costa, and a catalogue that treats the acoustic guitar as both rhythm instrument and lead voice. Tonight the audience sits in the second-floor salão, the beachfront visible through the windows, while Fonseca and his band work through originals and reinterpretations of the canon. The Blue Note runs its Saturday Feijoada Raiz programme during the day on the calçadão level — samba and buffet from noon — before transitioning to the evening concert. The happy hour on the terrace is free entry from 5 pm. Card accepted. Dress smart casual.

Practicalities: Blue Note Rio, Av. Atlântica, 1910 – Copacabana. The 8 pm session opens doors at 7 pm; the 10:30 pm session opens at 9:30 pm. Book ahead — Saturday nights sell out. Manobristas available. Smart casual — no beachwear. Metro Cardeal Arcoverde (Line 1) + 10-minute walk along the beachfront.

Passinho has been recognised as Patrimônio Cultural Imaterial of the State of Rio de Janeiro since 2018 — a dance style born in the favelas in the early 2000s that fuses funk carioca footwork with frevo, samba, and contemporary street dance. Tonight the Circo Voador hosts the national final of Red Bull Rabiscada, a trio competition that brings together the best Passinho dancers from seletivas in Belo Horizonte and Rio. The carioca seletiva ran yesterday at Visão Vidigal; the finalists dance tonight under the Circo’s famous tent. This is one of the most genuinely exciting events of the week — a competition that celebrates the city’s favela dance heritage in a venue that has launched careers since the 1980s. Expect a young, energetic crowd, heavy bass, and some of the most technically impressive dancers in the country.

Practicalities: Circo Voador, R. dos Arcos, s/n – Lapa. Free entry but tickets must be claimed online in advance. The venue is open-sided — bring a light jacket if it cools down. Metro Cinelândia or Carioca (Lines 1/2) + 5-minute walk. From here, Carioca da Gema is three minutes on foot, Rio Scenarium five minutes.

The last gasp of folia before March. Monobloco — the bloco born from a percussion workshop in 2000 that grew into one of Rio’s most popular Carnaval acts — brings its “Ressaca de Carnaval” show to the Arena Bangu in the Zona Oeste. The bateria da Mocidade Independente de Padre Miguel opens, followed by the full Monobloco set mixing samba, marchinhas, funk, MPB, and the homenagem to Arlindo Cruz that anchored their 2026 Carnaval programme. Capacity is 3,000. Originally scheduled for February 1, the show was postponed due to heavy rain and rescheduled to tonight. This is a Zona Oeste event — a different Rio from the Zona Sul circuit. The Arena Bangu sits in the Bangu Shopping parking area, drawing a local crowd that fills fast. Abadás are part of the ticket packages for Front Premium and Camarote tiers.

Practicalities: Arena Bangu, R. Fonseca, 240 – Bangu Shopping. Ages 18+. Tickets via Sympla. About 40 minutes from Centro by car; Metro does not reach Bangu directly — ride-hailing recommended. Event runs until midnight.

Twenty-five years on Avenida Mem de Sá and Carioca da Gema remains the bar that helped turn Lapa into a samba district. Saturday nights draw a mixed crowd of locals and visitors into the narrow two-storey casarão, where live bands play samba de raiz, MPB, and chorinho while the gafieira floor fills with dancers who actually know what they are doing. The venue was one of the first to occupy the abandoned colonial houses of Lapa and turn them into music venues — a model that dozens of bars on the strip subsequently copied. Saturday programming rotates weekly. Expect a full band from 9:30 pm, peak energy around 11 pm, and a gradual wind-down toward the 3 am close. The upstairs varanda has better sightlines to the stage; the ground floor is for dancing.

Practicalities: Av. Mem de Sá, 79 – Lapa. Cover charge at the door. Card accepted. No reservations on Saturdays — arrive before 10 pm for a table. Metro Cinelândia or Carioca. Three-minute walk from Circo Voador.

Rio Scenarium occupies a three-storey colonial warehouse on Rua do Lavradio stuffed with ten thousand antiques — chandeliers, vintage radios, mannequins, barber chairs — that serve as both décor and inventory for the antique shop that operates on the ground floor during the day. At night the space transforms into one of Rio’s most atmospheric samba venues, with live bands playing across the balconied floors while couples dance gafieira between the artefacts. Saturday is its busiest night. The main band starts around 8 pm on the mezzanine stage, visible from all three levels. The dance floor fills by 9 pm. If you want a table with a view of the stage, book ahead or arrive at 7 pm sharp.

Practicalities: Rua do Lavradio, 20 – Centro. Runs past 4 am on Saturdays. Card accepted. Metro Cinelândia, five-minute walk along Lavradio. The Feira do Lavradio antiques market runs on the first Saturday of the month — not tonight, but the street retains its weekend energy.

›

›

›

›

›

›

›