Candace Brightman (born 1944) is an American lighting engineer, known for her longtime association with the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

. She is the sister of author

Carol Brightman Carol Deborah Morton Brightman (October 5, 1939November 11, 2019) was an American author. Her 1992 biography ''Writing Dangerously: Mary McCarthy and Her World'' received the 1992 National Book Critics Circle Biography/Autobiography Award. Earl ...

. Brightman grew up in Illinois and studied set design at St John's College,

Annapolis, Maryland 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 ...

. She began working as a lighting technician in the Anderson Theater, New York City, and was recruited by Bill Graham to operate lighting at the Fillmore East. In 1970, she operated the house lights at the

Chicago Coliseum Chicago Coliseum was the name applied to three large indoor arenas in Chicago, Illinois, which stood successively from the 1860s to 1982; they served as venues for sports events, large (national-class) conventions and as exhibition halls. The f ...

with Norol Tretiv. She has also worked for

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and Van Morrison. After serving as house lighting engineer for several Grateful Dead shows, including their 1971 residency at the Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, she was recruited by the band's

Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician best known for being the principal songwriter, lead guitarist, and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence ...

to work for them full-time. She started working regularly for the Dead on their 1972 tour of Europe (which was recorded and released as '' Europe 72''), and remained their in-house lighting engineer for the remainder of their career. One particular challenge that Brightman faced was having to alter lighting setups immediately in response to the Dead's improvisational style. By the band's final tours in the mid-1990s, she was operating a computer-controlled lighting system and managing a team of technicians. Her work inspired

Phish Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band is known for musical improvisation, extended jams, blending of genres, and a dedicated fan base. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon ...

's resident lighting engineer

Chris Kuroda Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band is known for musical improvisation, extended jams, blending of genres, and a dedicated fan base. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon, ...

, who regularly studied techniques in order to keep up with her standards. Brightman continued working in related spin-off projects until 2005. She returned to direct the lighting for the

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concerts in 2015, where she used over 500 fixtures. In 2020, the Capitol Theatre blog listed Brightman as being one of the most influential women in the Grateful Dead's history.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brightman, Candace Living people 1944 births Engineers from Illinois Grateful Dead Lighting engineers St. John's College (Annapolis/Santa Fe) alumni