Moonlight Benjamin at The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center

About

The Haitian-raised, French-based priestess of voodoo blues rock pulls no punches in her latest single, epi, with a straight-for-the-jugular, guitar-licked homage to Haiti evoking an Afro-energized Black Keys meets Dr. John. Singing in Haitian Creole and French, UK’s The Guardian says, “Benjamin sounds thrilling, thoughtful, and, at times, downright spooky... like a Caribbean Patti Smith.”

She grew up in a protestant orphanage in Port-au-Prince, learning how to sing at church. But she quickly left church songs and gospel behind to pursue her original culture. After experimenting with jazz and world music, she finally found her own unique musical style: a powerful and original fusion between Caribbean voodoo melodies and rhythms and 70's blues rock.