Midnite
Band. Revival
- Active
- 1989-2015
- Also known as
- Midnite Band, Vaughn Benjamin, Ron Benjamin, Akae Beka
Midnite was a roots reggae band from St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, led by the singer and chanter Vaughn Benjamin, and one of the most prolific roots acts of its time, taking its music to Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia.
Vaughn Benjamin was born in Antigua on August 13, 1969, the son of the Antiguan musician Ronnie Benjamin, and lived for many years on St. Croix, where he and his brother Ron, the band's bassist and keyboard player, founded Midnite in 1989. Its music was Rastafari roots reggae in the deepest sense: "ethereal chanted vocals," in Billboard's phrase, and lyrics drawn from the Bible, histories of injustice, African liberation and the teachings of Haile Selassie I. The St. Croix label I Grade, founded by Laurent "Tippy" Alfred to release Midnite's music, put out Nemozian Rasta (2001), the band's fourth album, and Midnite went on to release some sixty albums in all, many of them reaching the Billboard reggae top ten. Benjamin was known to play for two or three hours and then spend hours more talking with his audience.
The band split in 2015, and Benjamin carried on as Akae Beka with some of its members, taking his catalog past seventy albums. He reached his sunset in Port St. Lucie, Florida, on November 4, 2019, at fifty; David Hinds of Steel Pulse said the band came to "chant down Babylon" in a way "none of us reggae musicians have ever done before."
Last updated November 5, 2026
Notes
- Billboard, November 2019, accessed October 22, 2026, https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/vaughn-benjamin-obituary-appreciation-memorial-reggae-star-midnite-8544489. "Celebration of Life Set for Vaughn Benjamin of Midnite Band and Akae Beka," St. Thomas Source, November 15, 2019, https://stthomassource.com/?p=244552, which calls the band "one of the world's most influential roots reggae bands."
- Billboard, November 2019, accessed October 22, 2026, https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/vaughn-benjamin-obituary-appreciation-memorial-reggae-star-midnite-8544489.
- Billboard, November 2019, quoting Alfred on the long shows. "Celebration of Life Set for Vaughn Benjamin," on the chart placings.
- Billboard, November 2019. "Celebration of Life Set for Vaughn Benjamin." Appreciation of Vaughn Benjamin, Billboard, accessed November 5, 2026, https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/vaughn-benjamin-obituary-appreciation-memorial-reggae-star-midnite-8544489.
