Crystal Dawn Bright is a musician and

multimedia artist Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms such as text, audio, images, animations, or video into a single interactive presentation, in contrast to traditio ...

from

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. She is a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, music teacher, performance artist,

theatrical director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

& producer, and holistic health coach /

nutritionist A nutritionist is a person who advises others on matters of food and nutrition and their impacts on health. Some people specialize in particular areas, such as sports nutrition, public health, or animal nutrition, among other disciplines. In many c ...

. As founder and leader of the band Crystal Bright & the Silver Hands, she has released three studio albums and one live album, been reviewed internationally, and performed with the

North Carolina Symphony The North Carolina Symphony (NCS) is an American orchestra based in Raleigh, North Carolina, with sixty-six full-time musicians. The orchestra performs in Meymandi Concert Hall and performs occasionally with the Carolina Ballet and the Opera Com ...

. She won the North Carolina Symphony's Triangle Talent Search in September 2010 and released a music video in October 2011. The local ''

YES! Weekly ''Yes! Weekly'' (stylized ''YES! Weekly'') is an alternative weekly newspaper based in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is published by Womack Newspapers Inc., which also publishes the Jamestown News, and which is owned by Charles A. Womack III. YES ...

'' named her Best Singer in March 2012, Best Songwriter in May 2014, and Best Musician in the Triad in May 2015. Her music has been called "carnival folk, fairytale pop and gypsy jazz" and was described by the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

as "a pleasant kind of bonkers."Talkington, Fiona
"World on 3"
''BBC Radio 3'', June 22, 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-05.

Education and awards

Bright was born in

Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

and raised in Mount Pleasant, North Carolina,Duncan, Charla
"Future looks Bright"
, ''News & Record (Greensboro)'', July 14, 2010. Retrieved 2012-07-05. where she began taking music lessons at the age of seven.Stasio, Frank
"Crystal Bright & the Silver Hands"
, ''WUNC's The State of Things'', May 18, 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-05. After performing in numerous high school musicals, Bright studied DramaBuchanan, Bruce
"Show blends music, performance art"
, ''News & Record (Greensboro)'', October 7, 2010. Retrieved 2012-07-05. before earning a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

Anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...

from the

University of North Carolina at Greensboro The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG or UNC Greensboro) is a public research university in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. UNCG, like all members of the UNC system, is a stand-al ...

."Sessions At Studio B With Crystal Bright And The Silver Hands"
, ''NBC's Sessions at Studio B'', December 2010. Retrieved 2012-07-05. She then earned a master's degreeBright, Crystal
"Cakalak Thunder: The Meaning of Anarchy, Value, and Community in the Music of Greensboro's Protest Drum Corps"
, ''The Florida State University DigiNole Commons Virtual Repository for Electronic Scholarship'', April 21, 2006. Retrieved 2012-07-05. in

Ethnomusicology Ethnomusicology is the study of music from the cultural and social aspects of the people who make it. It encompasses distinct theoretical and methodical approaches that emphasize cultural, social, material, cognitive, biological, and other dim ...

from

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

while performing in a variety of genre-spanning acts. Crystal Bright 2

Inspired by

P.J. Harvey Polly Jean Harvey (born 9 October 1969) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments. Harvey began her career in 1988 when she joined loca ...

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...

Tori Amos Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos; August 22, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She is a classically trained musician with a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Having already begun composing instrumental pieces on piano, Amos won a full ...

,Kane, Rebecca
"My Interview with Crystal Bright"
''Coolgrrrls'', December 1, 2011. Retrieved 2012-07-05.

Tom waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

Yann tiersen Yann Tiersen (born 23 June 1970) is a French Breton musician and composer. His musical career is split between studio recordings, music collaborations and film soundtracks songwriting. His music incorporates a large variety of classical and c ...

Gotan project Gotan Project is a musical group based in Paris (France), consisting of musicians Eduardo Makaroff (Argentine), Philippe Cohen Solal (French) and Christoph H. Müller (Swiss), a former member of Touch El Arab.Madlen Albrecht ''Le développemen ...

,Mellor, JG
"Crystal Bright and The Silver Hands announce new album, Muses and Bones"
, ''Shuffle Magazine'', February 3, 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-05.

Lhasa de Sela Lhasa de Sela (September 27, 1972 – January 1, 2010), also known by the mononym Lhasa, was an American-Canadian singer-songwriter who was raised in Mexico and the United States and divided her adult life between Canada and France. Her first al ...

and

The Tiger Lillies The Tiger Lillies are a cult British musical trio formed in 1989 by singer-songwriter Martyn Jacques. Described as the forefathers of Brechtian Punk Cabaret, the Tiger Lillies are well known for their unique sound and style which merges "the ...

, Bright played in

Mariachi Mariachi (, , ) is a genre of regional Mexican music that dates back to at least the 18th century, evolving over time in the countryside of various regions of western Mexico. The usual mariachi group today consists of as many as eight violins, t ...

, Balinese gamelan,

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

Ugandan }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The southe ...

,Rainwater, Erin McClanahan
"Meet an Artist: Crystal Bright"
, ''News & Record (Greensboro)'', February 29, 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-05. Brazilian Samba and

Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...

ensembles. After graduate school, Bright traveled the world where she studied

flamenco dancing Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and ...

in Spain, worked for the

Montana Conservation Corps The Montana Conservation Corps (MCC) is a young adult voluntary development program modeled after the Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930s, using conservation projects to foster citizenship and personal growth in its members. The MCC operate ...

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowston ...

, and became further acquainted with other cultures and their music. She won the North Carolina Symphony's Triangle Talent Search in September 2010.Music Industry News Networ

Retrieved 2016-02-03. The local ''

'' named her Best Singer in March 2012,Snyder, Ryan
"Best Of: The Music Endorsements"
, ''Yes! Weekly'', March 7, 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-05. Best Songwriter in May 2014,YES! Weekl

, ''YES! Weekly'', May 21, 2014. Retrieved 2016-02-04. and Best Musician in the Triad in May 2015.YES! Weekl

, ''Yes! Weekly'', May 6, 2015. Retrieved 2016-02-03. She was featured as the Nimbit Artist of the Week on the Studio One (software), PreSonus Studio One Blog in December 2014Roullard, Rya
"Nimbit Artist of the Week: Crystal Bright and the Silver Hands!"
''PreSonus Blog'', December 10, 2014. Retrieved 2016-02-03. and was featured on Band of the Day in May 2015.Band of the Da
"Crystal Bright and the Silver Hands"
''Band of the Day'', May 25, 2015. Retrieved 2016-02-04. Her singing has been described as "captivating and mysterious,"Guerin, John

''How Strange it is to be Anything at All'', January 14, 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-05. featuring her "mystical, even otherworldly"Fiander, Matthew
"Crystal Bright & the Silver Hands"
''PopMatters'', March 27, 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-05. vocal inflections. Her "operatic voice teems with ethereal beauty"Wahl, Ashley
"Why the Caged Bird Sings"
''O'Henry Magazine'', April–May 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-05. and she plays many unusual instruments, including a

musical saw A musical saw, also called a singing saw, is a hand saw used as a musical instrument. Capable of continuous glissando (portamento), the sound creates an ethereal tone, very similar to the theremin. The musical saw is classified as a plaque f ...

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

,Johnson, James
"Crystal Bright and the Silver Hand"
''FEED Magazine'', August 5, 2011. Retrieved 2012-07-05. keyboards,

concertina A concertina is a free-reed musical instrument, like the various accordions and the harmonica. It consists of expanding and contracting bellows, with buttons (or keys) usually on both ends, unlike accordion buttons, which are on the front. The ...

,Elmer, Kailas
"Crystal Bright & the Silver Hands: Muses and Bones"
''Trebuchet Magazine'', February 3, 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-05. adungu (Ugandan harp),Guerin, John
"Crystal Bright and the Silver Hands – Muses and Bones"
''How Strange it is to be Anything at All'', June 4, 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-05.

bombo Bombo may refer to: Music *Bombo (musical), ''Bombo'' (musical), a 1921 Broadway production starring Al Jolson *Bombo (song), "Bombo" (song), by Norwegian singer Adelén *Bombo criollo or just bombo, a family of Latin American drums *Bombo legüer ...

(Argentinian drum),

zheng Zheng may refer to: *Zheng (surname), Chinese surname (鄭, 郑, ''Zhèng'') *Zheng County, former name of Zhengzhou, capital of Henan, China *Guzheng (), a Chinese zither with bridges *Qin Shi Huang (259 BC – 210 BC), emperor of the Qin Dynasty, ...

(zither), piano, guitar and

vihuela The vihuela () is a 15th-century fretted plucked Spanish string instrument, shaped like a guitar (figure-of-eight form offering strength and portability) but tuned like a lute. It was used in 15th- and 16th-century Spain as the equivalent of t ...

. Bright is a certified Holistic Health Coach /

Nutritionist A nutritionist is a person who advises others on matters of food and nutrition and their impacts on health. Some people specialize in particular areas, such as sports nutrition, public health, or animal nutrition, among other disciplines. In many c ...

Ginsburg, Eric
"Local Talent"
, ''Yes! Weekly'', January 25, 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-05. with a degree from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York City.Crystal Bright Holistic Health

Retrieved 2012-07-05. She practices through her company Crystal Bright Holistic Health.

Art and theater projects

Bright acted, sang and played music in two collaborations with mixed media sculptor Grey Pascal at Acme Art Studios in Wilmington, North Carolina, Wilmington, NC. "20/20: Filters of Light and Insight" was a 3D

performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

piece which debuted on May 28, 2010, with a theme that revolved around two

myth Myth is a folklore genre consisting of Narrative, narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or Origin myth, origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not Objectivity (philosophy), ...

ological lovers striving to express divine beauty.Hodges, Lauren
"Living Spectacles: Grey Pascal’s conceptual show goes 3D"
, ''Encore Magazine'', June 1, 2010. Retrieved 2012-07-05. "Downward Spiral" took place on October 15, 2011, and illustrated the metamorphosis of a girl into a woman who exudes creative power.Pompliano, Alex
"Spiralling Art"
''Encore Magazine'', October 2011. Retrieved 2012-07-05. Bright wrote, directed, produced and starred in the musical interpretive movement theater production "Illuminating and Transcending the Shadow," which featured her performing with her band the Silver Hands and a cast of 16 costumed actors. The whimsical yet impassioned production chronicled the journey of conquering the self-imposed oppression that holds people back. The show was co-produced by Rusty McDonald of DividingMe Photography. The show debuted at the Broach Theater in

Greensboro Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte and Raleigh, the 69th-most populous city in the Un ...

, NC in October 2010Develin, Sean
"The Winner of the 500 Dollar Battle of the Bands: Crystal Bright and the Silver Hands"
''Drunken Mermaid'', June 8, 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-05. with three further performances at the Greensboro Fringe Festival's 10th Anniversary Showcase at the Cultural Arts Center's City Arts Studio Theater in January 2012. Bright co-produced and starred in "Bones & Lilies," a collaboration with members of The Flowjo Family Circus which combined a musical concert with

experimental theatre Experimental theatre (also known as avant-garde theatre), inspired largely by Richard Wagner, Wagner's concept of Gesamtkunstwerk, began in Western theatre in the late 19th century with Alfred Jarry and his Ubu Roi, Ubu plays as a rejection of bot ...

interpretive dance Interpretive dance is a family of modern dance styles that began around 1900 with Isadora Duncan. It used classical concert music but marked a departure from traditional concert dance. It seeks to translate human emotions, conditions, situations o ...

, and

circus arts Circus skills are a group of disciplines that have been performed as entertainment in circus, sideshow, busking, or variety, vaudeville, or music hall shows. Most circus skills are still being performed today. Many are also practiced by non-perfo ...

including

acrobatics Acrobatics () is the performance of human feats of balance, agility, and motor coordination. Acrobatic skills are used in performing arts, sporting events, and martial arts. Extensive use of acrobatic skills are most often performed in acro ...

aerial silks Aerial silks (also known as aerial contortion, aerial ribbons, aerial tissues, fabric, ribbon, or ''tissu'') is a type of performance in which one or more artists perform aerial acrobatics while hanging from a specialist fabric. The fabric may b ...

hooping Hooping (also called hula hooping or hoop dance) is the manipulation of and artistic movement or dancing with a hoop (or hoops). Hoops can be made of metal, wood, or plastic. Hooping combines technical moves and tricks with freestyle or technical ...

belly dance Belly dance (Egyptian Arabic: رقص بلدي, translated: Dance of the Country/Folk Dance, romanized: Raks/Raas Baladi) is a dance that originates in Egypt. It features movements of the hips and torso. It has evolved to take many different f ...

juggling Juggling is a physical skill, performed by a juggler, involving the manipulation of objects for recreation, entertainment, art or sport. The most recognizable form of juggling is toss juggling. Juggling can be the manipulation of one object o ...

stilt walking Stilts are poles, posts or pillars that allow a person or structure to stand at a height above the ground. In flood plains, and on beaches or unstable ground, buildings are often constructed on stilts to protect them from damage by water, wa ...

and a fire processional.Guerin, John
"Bones and Lilies – Flowjo Family Circus w/ Crystal Bright & the Silver Hands (Carrboro, NC, 3/2/12)"
''How Strange it is to be Anything at All'', March 17, 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-05. There were two performances on March 2 and 3, 2012 at The Flowjo in

Carrboro Carrboro is a town in Orange County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 21,295 at the 2020 census. Founded in

in 2010, Crystal Bright & the Silver Hands take their name from a classic piece of folklore by

The Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among the ...

. "There is a story called 'The Handless Maiden'," Bright said, "and it is about her losing her hands and gaining them back in the end, representing her coming into her full creative and soulful self, which I felt like I was doing then, and am still doing."Dole, Christina
"Spotlight: Crystal Bright and the Silver Hands"
, ''Performer'', March 1, 2011. Retrieved 2012-07-05. "I had written all these songs and I needed help in creating a band and taking my music to the next level. The Silver Hands help me create something bigger than my own hands could." Crystal Bright 1

Compared to

Kate Bush Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and dancer. In 1978, at the age of 19, she topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks with her debut single "Wuthering Heights (song), Wuthering Heights", ...

Gogol Bordello Gogol Bordello is an American punk rock band from the Lower East Side of Manhattan, formed in 1999 by musicians from all over the world and known for theatrical stage shows and persistent touring. Much of the band's sound is inspired by Ro ...

,Baxter, Scott
"Crystal Bright and the Silver Hands ‘Muses and Bones’"
, ''AmericanaUK'', April 17, 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-05.

Danny Elfman Daniel Robert Elfman (born May 29, 1953) is an American film composer, singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the singer-songwriter for the new wave band Oingo Boingo in the early 1980s. Since the 1990s, Elfman has garnered internation ...

,Mansfield, Mark
"Crystal Bright and the Silver Hands-Toy Hammer"
, ''Stereo Subversion'', November 2, 2010. Retrieved 2012-07-05. and

Amanda Palmer Amanda MacKinnon Gaiman Palmer (born April 30, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and performance artist who is the lead vocalist, pianist, and lyricist of the duo The Dresden Dolls. She performs as a solo artist and was also a ...

and

Brian Viglione Brian Viglione (born May 16, 1979, in Greenville, New Hampshire) is an American drummer best known for his work with The Dresden Dolls and Violent Femmes. He was also a prominent member of New York City's cabaret punk orchestra The World/Inferno F ...

The Dresden Dolls The Dresden Dolls are an American musical duo from Boston, Massachusetts. Formed in 2000, the group consists of Amanda Palmer (lead vocals and piano; additional: keyboards, harmonica, ukulele) and Brian Viglione (drums and backing vocals; ad ...

,Straight, Chase
"Crystal Bright & the Silver Hands – Especially Your Mother"
, ''Electric Panda Music'', April 25, 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-05. Bright creates "a haunted, whimsical, multicultural sonic cabaret"Crystal Bright & the Silver Hands

Retrieved 2016-02-03. – "the sound of dark fairy tales" and "European carnivals." They deliver a "grand sense of theatricality"Cohen, Jake
"Album Review: Crystal Bright & the Silver Hands – Muses and Bones"
''Consequence of Sound'', April 10, 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-05. with Bright's unusual and unexpected arrangements and

time signatures The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

.Eason, Jeff
"Dark and Dreamy"
''Mountain Times'', April 26, 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-05. One reviewer wrote that "the Silver Hands understand the importance of a little chaos... especially among such beautifully orchestrated music." With songs deeply rooted in folktales,

fables Fable is a literary genre: a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are anthropomorphized, and that illustrates or leads to a particular moral ...

,"Introducing...Crystal Bright & the Silver Hands"
''The Mad Mackerel'', January 3, 2011. Retrieved 2012-07-05.

s and

dream A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...

archetypes, Bright's

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, a ...

and

melodies A melody (from Greek language, Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a Linearity#Music, linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most liter ...

portray the world as a dark, strange and often funny place.Ford, David
"Crystal Bright & the Silver Hands"
, ''WFDD's Triad Arts Up Close'', January 23, 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-05. She prefers to write about society and culture rather than relationships. A major inspiration is the book "Women Who Run With Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype” by

Clarissa Pinkola Estes ''Clarissa; or, The History of a Young Lady: Comprehending the Most Important Concerns of Private Life. And Particularly Shewing, the Distresses that May Attend the Misconduct Both of Parents and Children, In Relation to Marriage'' is an epist ...

. Song topics include twists on

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fairy tales, consisti ...

Little Match Girl "The Little Match Girl" ( da, Den Lille Pige med Svovlstikkerne, meaning "The little girl with the sulphur-sticks", i.e. matches) is a literary fairy tale by Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen. The story, about a dying child's ...

and

The Ugly Duckling "The Ugly Duckling" ( da, Den grimme ælling) is a Danish literary fairy tale by Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875). It was first published on 11 November 1843 in ''New Fairy Tales. First Volume#New Fairy Tales. Fir ...

, the Slavic witch

Baba yaga In Slavic folklore, Baba Yaga, also spelled Baba Jaga (from Polish), is a supernatural being (or one of a trio of sisters of the same name) who appears as a deformed and/or ferocious-looking woman. In fairy tales Baba Yaga flies around in a ...

, and the

Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...

folk tale of the Skeleton Woman. As of February 2018, Bright has performed over 800 concerts, including festivals such as South by Southwest (SXSW),

Dragon Con Dragon Con (previously Dragon*Con and sometimes DragonCon) is a North American multigenre convention, founded in 1987, which takes place annually over the Labor Day weekend in Atlanta, Georgia. , the convention draws attendance of over 80,000, f ...

, MidPoint Music Festival,

FloydFest FloydFest is a Music and arts festival held annually near Floyd, Virginia, in the Blue Ridge Mountains History The event began in 2002, and spans five days each year with on-site camping and multiple stages featuring rock, bluegrass, reggae, f ...

Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival The Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance is a biannual music and dance festival held the first Thursday thru Sunday in May and October in Pittsboro, NC. The festival takes place on a venue which is managed by Shakori Hills Commun ...

, Savannah Stopover and

Steampunk World's Fair Steampunk World's Fair (SPWF) was the largest annual Steampunk festival on the East Coast of the United States and one of the biggest in the world held over the course of a weekend during the month of May in Piscataway, New Jersey or Somerset, N ...

. She's performed shows with artists including

Beats Antique Beats Antique is a U.S.-based experimental world fusion and electronic music group. Formed in 2007 in conjunction with producer Miles Copeland, the group has become noted for their mix of different genres as well as their live shows, which mix s ...

, Voltaire,

Adam Arcuragi Adam Arcuragi is an American-born artist and producer from Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, who lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for many years. He is credited with being the founder of the musical genre Death Gospel. Adam's debut album (unti ...

The Love Language The Love Language is an American indie rock band from Raleigh, North Carolina, headed by Stuart McLamb. Origin The Love Language began after frontman Stuart McLamb's first band, The Capulets, broke up. Following a breakup with his girlfriend, ...

Pearl and the Beard Pearl and the Beard was a folk-pop trio from New York City. Their songs feature prominent three-part vocal harmonies with instrumentation that includes cello, guitar, micro korg, tenor electric guitar, baritone ukulele, and drums. They were known as ...

, Holy Ghost Tent Revival,

Rising Appalachia Rising Appalachia is an American Appalachian folk music group led by multi-instrumentalist sisters Leah Song and Chloe Smith. Leah also performs as a solo artist. Based between Atlanta, New Orleans, and the Asheville area of North Carolina, the ...

Larkin Grimm Larkin Grimm (born September 18, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter and musician based in New York City. She was born in Memphis, Tennessee. Early life and career At age 20 Grimm dropped out of Yale University and moved to Alaska, where sh ...

and Lolo. Bright collaborated and performed with the

on an arrangement of her song "Toy Hammer" for their 2010 New Year's Eve program at

Meymandi Concert Hall Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts is the main venue for the performing arts in Raleigh, North Carolina. The naming rights to the center currently are held by Duke Energy (formerly Progress Energy), which purchased them from the city in 2 ...

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the List of North Carolina county seats, seat of Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County in the United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most ...

. Bright and the Silver Hands performed a live score to the classic silent horror movie

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari ''The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' (german: Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari) is a 1920 German silent horror film, directed by Robert Wiene and written by Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer. Considered the quintessential work of German Expressionist cinema, ...

in October 2015 and October 2016.Windsor, Mar
"Crystal Bright and the Silver Hands present The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari"
''The Carolinian'', November 4, 2015. Retrieved 2016-02-03.

Albums

Their self-titled debut album, ''Crystal Bright & the Silver Hands'', was released in June 2010 to reviews praising its "experimental vaudeville" and "twisted carnival folk." Their second album, ''Muses & Bones'', was released in March 2012."Crystal Bright & the Silver Hands Prep Muses & Bones"
''The Mad Mackerel'', February 5, 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-05. It was

mastered Mastering, a form of audio post production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device (the master), the source from which all copies will be produced (via meth ...

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

-winning engineer

Gene Paul Gene William Paul (born August 20, 1944) is an American audio recording / mixing / mastering engineer, producer and musician. He was an engineer at Atlantic Recording Studios during their famed 1960s–80s period and is currently the chief mas ...

(son of legendary guitarist/inventor

Les paul Lester William Polsfuss (June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009), known as Les Paul, was an American jazz, country, and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid-body electric guitar, and his prototype ...

) at G&J Audio. It was described as "stunningly beautiful," filled with "power, grace and style,"Worley, Jon
"Crystal Bright & the Silver Hands – Muses and Bones"
''Aiding & Abetting'', March 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-05. and "a record for freaks and thinkers, healers and hippies, the cool and the curious and for people who just want a little more." Their third album, "Live on All Hallows' Evening", was released in April 2013 and chronicles a collaborative performance with the Castaway Cabaret

troupe at The Blind Tiger in

Greensboro, NC Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte, North Car ...

in October 2012.YES! Weekl
"Castaway Cabaret Presents: All Hallows' Evening"
, ''YES! Weekly'', October 10, 2012. Retrieved 2016-02-03. Their fourth album, "The Absolute Elsewhere" was released in May 2015 with every song written to accompany a piece of art created by Rusty McDonald of DividingMe Photography.88.5 WFD
"Crystal Bright and the Silver Hands Release The Absolute Elsewhere"
''88.5 WFDD'', November 18, 2014. Retrieved 2016-02-03. The album was featured on the front page of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

.com who described it as "wildly eclectic, engaging and creative" with "no shortage of twists and turns."Steffen, Chri
"Album Premiere: Crystal Bright & the Silver Hands Conjure Dark Cabaret on The Absolute Elsewhere"
''AllMusic.com'', May 14, 2015. Retrieved 2016-02-03.

Video

The video for "Drowned Out", from their second album, ''Muses & Bones'', won the Best Overall Video award at the HearNC Music Video Festival at

Cat's Cradle Cat's cradle is a game involving the creation of various string figures between the fingers, either individually or by passing a loop of string back and forth between two or more players. The true origin of the name is debated, though the fi ...

Chapel Hill Chapel Hill or Chapelhill may refer to: Places Antarctica * Chapel Hill (Antarctica) Australia *Chapel Hill, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane *Chapel Hill, South Australia, in the Mount Barker council area Canada * Chapel Hill, Ottawa, a neighbo ...

, NC in December 2011HearN
"HearNC Music Video Festival"
''HearNC Music Video Festival', May 25, 2015. Retrieved 2016-02-04. and won DrunkenMermaid's Video Battle of the Bands in June 2012. It was screened at the Indie Grits Film Festival as part of the Shuffle Magazine Showcase at the Nickelodeon Theatre in

Columbia, SC Columbia is the capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 census, it is the second-largest city in South Carolina. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, and a portion of the city ...

in April 2012"Video picks from Shuffle's Indie Grits showcase"
, ''Shuffle Magazine'', April 27, 2012. Retrieved 2012-08-13. and at The Carrboro Film Festival at the Carrboro Century Center in

Carrboro Carrboro is a town in Orange County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 21,295 at the 2020 census."The Films"
The Carrboro Film Festival. Retrieved 2012-10-09. Following a private showing at DragonCon in Atlanta GA in late August 2018, the video for "Choke", from The Absolute Elsewhere, was released on October 23, 2018. Beginning in early 2016, the video, with a cast and crew of over 50 people, was filmed in 4 different locations in NC over the course of over 2 years. It features an alternate version of Crystal as a child, played by Rachael Skipper, wandering through an abandoned castle,

Castle Mont Rouge Castle Mont Rouge is a castle located on Red Mountain in Rougemont, North Carolina, north of Durham.''The News and Observer'', "A castle? A Work of Art? Mont Rouge is a labor of love", Adrianne Cleven, 3 Nov 2019, 1D''The Herald Sun'', “Castl ...

, and surrounding field before encountering a mirror in a house of horrors and turning into the adult version of Crystal, played by Crystal herself. The adult Crystal is chased by inhabitants of the house as the song gets more intense at the end. The video for "Choke" was directed and produced by Ron Royster and filmed (and produced) by Craig Thieman.

Members

Permanent members: *Crystal Bright – Vocals,

, keyboards,

, adungu,

, piano, guitar,

Rotating members: *Jeremy Haire – Electric and

nylon Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers composed of polyamides ( repeating units linked by amide links).The polyamides may be aliphatic or semi-aromatic. Nylon is a silk-like thermoplastic, generally made from petro ...

guitars *Rob DiMauro – Drums *Omar Ruiz-Lopez - Violin

Footnotes

External links

Official websiteCrystal Bright Holistic HealthCrystal Bright & the Silver Hands
on

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bright, Crystal 1981 births Living people People from Annapolis, Maryland American multimedia artists Musical groups from North Carolina