Xand Avião: from Aviões do Forró to a career spanning generations
Updated: Aug 26
With more than two decades dedicated to forró, Xand Avião has built a career shaped by Aviões do Forró, major hits, solo projects and collaborations that keep the “Comandante” among the leading names in Northeastern Brazilian music.
The career of Xand Avião is intertwined with an important phase in the transformation of Brazilian forró. Before building a solo career, the singer gained national recognition as one of the voices of Aviões do Forró, a group formed in Fortaleza that helped renew the genre’s sound, stage production and the way forró reached audiences in different regions of Brazil.
Xand joined Aviões in 2002 and remained with the project until 2018. During those years, his voice became instantly recognizable to fans and accompanied a generation that saw electronic forró move from major Northeastern celebrations to arenas, festivals, television programs and events across Brazil.
Aviões do Forró turns Xand into one of the genre’s defining voices
It was during his time with Aviões do Forró that Xand consolidated the identity he would later carry into his solo career. The group’s growth came as electronic forró expanded its structure, incorporating larger bands, more elaborate stage productions and repertoires that moved between dance tracks and romantic lyrics.
Throughout this period, the singer took part in projects that became part of the emotional memory of listeners who followed the genre in the 2000s and 2010s. The experience also helped shape the stage presence that would become essential when he began a new professional chapter under the name Xand Avião.
Solo career opens the door to new projects
After his chapter with Aviões came to an end, Xand entered a phase in which he could explore different formats while keeping forró at the center. Projects such as “Errejota”, “Viva La Vida”, “MiXtura” and “Xand's Bar” became part of this new journey, while the singer also increased his collaborations with artists from other genres.
His solo career also allowed Xand to preserve songs that are part of his history while introducing new tracks to an audience that came to know him after Aviões. This coexistence between past and present has become an important feature of his concerts, which often mix hits from different stages of his career.
“Balanço da Rede” introduces Xand to a new generation
One of the projects that defined this phase was “Balanço da Rede”, a collaboration with Matheus Fernandes released in 2022. The song reached No. 1 on Spotify Brazil and became one of the singer’s biggest recent hits, bringing Xand closer to an audience deeply connected to digital platforms.
The official music video for the collaboration also achieved enormous reach on YouTube, surpassing hundreds of millions of views. The result showed that, two decades after the start of his journey with Aviões, Xand was still finding ways to connect with a new generation of listeners.
“Meu São João” strengthens his connection to forró’s roots
In 2026, Xand once again turned the spotlight toward one of the most important periods in the Northeastern Brazilian music calendar. The audiovisual project “Meu São João”, recorded live in Fortaleza, revisits repertoire associated with the June festival season and also features special guests, reinforcing dialogue between different generations of forró.
The album highlights a characteristic that has followed the singer throughout his career: the ability to update his sound without abandoning songs and references that helped shape his audience. Moving between recent tracks and well-known songs from earlier eras, the project also serves as a celebration of Northeastern Brazil’s musical memory.
A career that also made room for new artists
Xand’s career has also expanded into business. In recent years, the singer has become involved in structuring projects aimed at emerging artists and the live events market, extending his presence beyond his role as a performer onstage.
This experience places the artist in a different position within today’s Northeastern Brazilian music scene: while maintaining his own career, Xand also follows and participates in an environment where new names in forró, piseiro and related genres emerge at an increasingly fast pace. In 2026, he highlighted his interest in expanding opportunities for artists at the beginning of their careers.
Xand Avião also represents São João and Northeastern Brazilian culture
Xand’s relationship with popular festivals also extends beyond music. In June 2026, the singer was chosen by Honda as ambassador for the “Bora de Honda” campaign, created around São João celebrations and the culture of Northeastern Brazil.
For the campaign, Xand received exclusive pieces developed by Mestre Espedito Seleiro, including a customized jacket and helmet. The combination of music, craftsmanship and tradition reinforced the singer’s image as an artist whose career remains closely associated with Northeastern Brazilian cultural references.
Xand Avião at Vaquejada de Serrinha 2026
In September, this connection with major Northeastern Brazilian celebrations gains another chapter at Vaquejada de Serrinha 2026. Xand Avião is confirmed for the lineup on Saturday, September 5, at Parque de Vaquejada Maria do Carmo in Serrinha, Bahia.
That same night, the lineup also features Léo Santana, Toque Dez, Tarcísio do Acordeon, João Gomes and Silvânia & Berg, bringing together different generations of forró, piseiro, arrocha and music from Bahia. According to the official ticketing platform, Saturday’s program begins at 6 p.m.
For Xand, returning to a major event connected to vaquejada culture directly reflects a career that grew within Northeastern Brazil’s biggest celebrations. For audiences in Serrinha, the performance is also a chance to see an artist whose voice has crossed more than two decades of transformations in forró.
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