The Center for the Arts
Genre: Rock As a longtime favorite of Martin Gore (Depeche Mode) and Iggy Pop, the Haitian vodou priestess Moonlight Benjamin explores the roots of blues and rock. Carried by a deeper and darker sound and by her unique voice , influenced by Alabama Shakes, Oumou Sangaré, and Dr John, Moonlight’s concert is a primal scream, a mystifying and mystical musical mixture, almost shamanic, an incantation of liberation in the midst of raging guitars and propulsive drumming. Nicknamed “The Caribbean Patti Smith” by The Guardian (UK), Moonlight Benjamin plays a powerful and original music blending Caribbean voodoo melodies and a 70s blues rock inspired by Dr John, Alabama Shakes, the Black Keys or Oumou Sangaré … The encounter between Moonlight's powerful and rebellious voice, and the tension of saturated guitars, turns the voodoo trance into a new and explosive style. Between 2018 and 2021, she’s been named by Martin Gore (Depeche Mode) as his 2020 favorite, been airplayed by Iggy Pop himself at the BBC, been featured on both Songlines and FRoots magazine's cover (Uk), and reviewed by major media such as The Guardian (Uk), The financialTimes (Uk), The NY Times (US) … She also performed 65 gigs in 2019 in 15 countries, on major festivals or venues in Europe and North America.
Center for the Arts volunteers: Please remember to wear black or black and white clothes with closed-toe shoes. Please leave time to find street parking as our parking lot is for patrons only. If you're a new volunteer, please come 15 minutes early and ask for the House Manager so we can give you a quick orientation to your duties for the event. When you arrive at the Center (314 W. Main Street, Grass Valley) enter through the front lobby doors and check in at the volunteer table in the gallery.
