Before electricity, concert lighting tools included candles, natural light, gas, oil torches and lime lighting, according to SolarisPower.com.
Concert and stage lighting changed dramatically in the 1800s with the invention of incandescent lights, according to SolarisPower.com.
Concert lighting at its essence allows for the audience to see the performers and for the performers to see each other and their music if necessary, according to PerformingMusician.com. In the 1960s, concerts began to feature such new features as flashing and colored lights, thereby ushering in an era in which the lighting for some concerts became an integral part of the show.
The power of contemporary lights mean that a small, portable source of lighting can be sufficient for basic concert lighting, according to SolarisPower.com. The advancement in the technology of lighting has turned concert lighting into a very high-tech and expensive category of lighting.
Concert lighting has advanced well beyond flashing and colored lights, according to PerformingMusician.com. Concert lighting now includes such tools as projection, video and strobe lighting. The lighting for many high-profile concerts are tightly programmed down to the smallest nuance.