“Bern & the Brights” began as just a phrase, a gnawing hunch that woke singer Bernadette Malavarca in the middle of some night way ahead of the band’s formation. She jotted it in a notebook with the rest of the thought: “Gonna start a band. It’ll be Bern & the Brights . . . should be sleeping.”
In 2008, by happenstance, the members came together to play one show at a local bookstore-closing. Within two rehearsals, a five-way chemistry became glaringly evident. Originally listed on the bill as “Bern,” at the mic, Malavarca introduced the band as “Bern & the Brights.” With amps cranked and drums pounding in a room completely inappropriate for a concert, plaster falling from the walls onto tipped over bookcases, an audience with eyes affixed on the band, rows of Converse tapping throughout each song, it was clear B&TB were onto something special.
Two years later Bern & the Brights are rapidly growing to be one of North Jersey’s most promising bands. In this short time, the band has performed nearly 200 shows, has been selected as The Aquarian Weekly’s 2010 “On the Verge Band,” has been featured on 101.9RXP during the Local Licks segment on The Rock Show with Matt Pinfield and Leslie Framm, and has been highlighted as one of the top 300 NYC-area bands by The Deli Magazine, among such artists as Titus Andronicus, Ra Ra Riot, The National, and Vampire Weekend. And in their first year alone they earned the NYC Emerging Artist of December 2008 and were highlighted among the top 50 NYC Emerging Artists of 2008 at The Deli Magazine, sharing that category with other indie artists including: Chairlift, The Vivian Girls, and April Smith and the Great Picture Show.
In their short time, the band has opened for such notable artists as Butch Walker, Rhett Miller [of the Old 97s,] Nicole Atkins and the Black Sea, Living Colour, and Mike Doughty [of Soul Coughing]. They’ve toured the northeast coast and have graced the stages of some major venues including Webster Hall, Maxwell’s, The Stone Pony, The Bitter End, Spike Hill, and Southpaw.
The band is known for their evocative and energetic live show. With radiant chemistry and strong musicianship, they create an infectious, positive emotionality that takes over and transforms any room. Their fan base, playfully referred to as The Light Brigade, is ever-growing, and spans a broad range of people who connect with the band’s organic and romantic sound. Their sound has been described as “effortless genre-bending,” and they have been compared to stalwart artists such as R.E.M., Dave Matthews Band, Jeff Buckley, and Coldplay.
Bern & the Brights are currently finishing up an EP due out this July and have a heavy tour scheduled in support. This band is DIY through and through, from booking to recording. You’ll catch them hand-packaging their CDs before shows and cutting up fliers listing their tour dates (and probably hand-delivering both to you with a friendly smile and a hug).
The band is fronted by songwriters Malavarca and McGowan. For more on Bern & the Brights, check out their blog at: www.bernandthebrightsblog.com
