Lighting for a band can be a simple white spotlight that focuses on each performer. Or you can use a whole bank of lights. Other options include are lasers, black lights and strobe or flashing lights. If strobe lights are used, place a notice where people coming to the concert can see it and leave if strobes are a problem for them. Post similar warnings for any blinking red light, because they can provoke seizures in susceptible individuals.
Know the music. Review the set list and design the lighting to reflect the mood of each song and its transition times and dramatic moments. For set-up and break times, you can let your imagination run wild and create a filler light show to set an anticipatory mood. Create a lighting plan for the entire set, and get the band's input before you start practicing the set-up and sequencing.
Perform a concert site evaluation before the performance. Discuss the house lighting arrangements with the site manager. Check the fuse box to ensure a safe and sufficient power source to run the equipment. If using outlets, check their locations, and have adequate, professional-gauge power cables ready to use as needed.
Locate lights at the foot of the stage, hang them from the ceiling or place them on a pole, according to your lighting plan. Lights can even be used as an integral part of the stage presentation, depending on the band's preferences.
Determine where you want to set up the lighting equipment per your plan. Accommodate the placement of sound equipment and check for any overhead obstructions.
A single white spotlight can focus the audience's full attention on a performer, but sometimes the simplicity of white light doesn't set the right mood. For something more energetic, various colors are associated with different moods, such as red with energy and blue with melancholy. The combination of colored lights along with a white background produces dramatic colored shadows.
Placing different shapes over a light in a canister provides a change in the stage setting without actual prop changes. Light can be used in a novel way with the use of polished metal or mirrors. The infamous disco ball and its multicolored mirrored variants became the iconic light in casting moving, reflected lights throughout a club, along with an electric mood, and remain widely in use today.