Candace Brightman

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{{Short description|American lighting engineer (born 1944)}}

Candace Brightman (born 1944) is an American lighting engineer, known for her longtime association with the Grateful Dead. She is the sister of author Carol Brightman.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/15/books/carol-brightman-dead.html|title=Carol Brightman, 80, Dies;|newspaper=New York Times|date=November 15, 2019|access-date=March 4, 2021}}

Brightman grew up in Illinois and studied set design at St John's College, Annapolis, Maryland.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.npr.org/2018/03/20/593958534/do-you-want-to-talk-to-the-man-in-charge-or-the-woman-who-knows-what-s-going-on?t=1614849651047|title=Do You Want To Talk To The Man-In-Charge, Or The Woman Who Knows What's Going On?|magazine=National Public Radio|date=March 20, 2018|access-date=March 4, 2021}} 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.{{cite magazine|url=https://jambands.com/features/2015/12/24/candace-brightman-returns/|title=Candace Brightman Returns|first=Olivia|last=Schilder|magazine=Jam Bands|date=December 24, 2015|access-date=March 4, 2021}} In 1970, she operated the house lights at the Chicago Coliseum with Norol Tretiv.{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wCkEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22Candace+Brightman%22&pg=PA22|title=Chicago Coliseum opens for rock concerts Oct 2|magazine=Billboard|date=September 9, 1970}} She has also worked for Janis Joplin, Joe Cocker 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 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.{{cite book|title=The American Book of the Dead|first=Oliver|last=Trager|page=51|year=1997|publisher=Simon & Schuster|isbn=978-0-684-81402-5}} Her work inspired Phish's resident lighting engineer Chris Kuroda, who regularly studied techniques in order to keep up with her standards.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.jambase.com/article/chris-kuroda-phish-lighting-designer-bioluminescence-podcast|title=Chris Kuroda Talks Phish's Early Days & More|magazine=JamBase|date=September 14, 2020|access-date=March 4, 2021}}

Brightman continued working in related spin-off projects until 2005.{{cite news|url=https://liveforlivemusic.com/news/candace-brightman-donate/|title=Candace Brightman, LD For Grateful Dead & WSP, Is Losing Her Vision.|work=Live for Live Music|date=February 2, 2018|access-date=March 4, 2021}} She returned to direct the lighting for the Fare Thee Well concerts in 2015, where she used over 500 fixtures.{{cite magazine|url=http://www.etnow.com/news/2015/7/brightman-hoffman-and-bandit-help-grateful-dead-bid-fare-thee-well|title=Brightman, Hoffman and Bandit Help Grateful Dead Bid Fare Thee Well|magazine=Entertainment Technology|date=July 21, 2015|access-date=March 4, 2021}}