Land Be Bright was roundly panned by reviewers. One critic reported that the work received "little more than polite applause.[4] The Chicago Sun's reviewer quipped, "From where I sat Land Be Bright had exactly nothing to say."[5] The worst notices came from Music News, whose critic called the work "uninspired and infantile in conception" with "the worst faults of the early modern dance."[6]
Dance Magazine's Ann Barzel had a more favorable opinion and even saw a possibility for Graham to rehabilitate the work. "Land Be Bright at its premiere was a routine modern dance, not any more distinguished than the square dance pieces most modern dance groups include in their repertoires. Somehow we feel that this will not be true for more than a few performances. Miss Graham will soon find what she is after and lift Land Be Bright from its undistinguished level to something outstanding - or she will drop it."[2]