About Fogo Azul NYC
Fogo Azul New York City's most powerful drumline.
Where empowerment, unity, and music come together to create magical moments.
We are a women centered space, however we welcome non-binary and transgender folks.
We Are Distinguished
Fogo Azul NYC is New York City’s boldest and most unforgettable performance group.
Founded in 2016 by Buffalo native Stacy Kovacs, this Brazilian Samba Reggae drumline was built from the ground up: local, loud, and impossible to ignore.
Stacy left the drumming franchise world to create something with real roots in New York City and real vision for the future.
We take the roots of this music seriously. Samba Reggae is Afro-Brazilian music from Bahia — and we stay connected to that source through ongoing cultural exchange with mestres, educators, and artists in Salvador. We’re not just here to play it loud — we’re here to play it right.
FogoAzul NYC is also a member of Marcus Santos’s Samba Reggae-based Grooversity education project, Fogo Azul NYC is an age and ethnically diverse community that spans the drummer spectrum from novice to professional.
We Are Unforgettable
Live Drumming That Turns Heads and Keeps the Crowd Moving
Looking to take your party, wedding, fundraiser, or corporate event up a notch? Fogo Azul NYC brings the high-energy thunder of live Brazilian samba reggae drumming to any space, indoors, outdoors, big or small.
We’ve performed everywhere:
🎉 Weddings & receptions
🎭 Fundraisers & galas
🏢 Corporate events & product launches
🕍 Bar/bat mitzvahs
📚 Museums, libraries, & schools
🎉 Festivals, parades, private parties, and more.
Whether you need 5 drummers or 50+, we bring the impact. No microphones, no fluff, just serious sound and unforgettable visuals.
Based in NYC and serving the tri-state area (New York, New Jersey, Long Island, Connecticut).
Let us help you create a moment that people will talk about long after the last drumbeat.
STACY KOVACS
Founder and Artistic Director
Stacy Kovacs hails from sunny Buffalo, NY where she grew up playing piano and taking tap dance lessons at age 5 and percussion at age 8. She was in many different musical organizations as a drummer throughout her youth, and eventually learned trombone.
She is responsible for bringing Batala New York, an Afro-Brazilian Samba Reggae drumming project to New York City in 2011. As Founder, Creator, and Artistic Director of Batala New York, being part of a franchise was limiting. So, she started her own group, called Fogo Azul NYC!
DANY JOHNSON
Co-Founder and Assistant Director
Dany Johnson plays many percussion instruments and joins Fogo Azul from Batala NYC and brings her vast experience.
Most know her as the DJ at notorious NYC downtown clubs throughout the 80s and 90s, including Club 57, Mudd Club, Pyramid, Boy Bar, Area, Clit Club, The World, Mars.
Dany Johnson is a founding member of all-girl percussion based No Wave band Pulsallama.