Spotlight: The Brotherhood of Light

The 1960s was the decade that ushered in the first immersive concert experience. 

It was no longer just about sound, it was a mind-blowing sensory journey. And the famous revered group behind that transformation was the Brotherhood of Light, a collection of visual artists who turned ordinary rock shows into swirling, hypnotic spectacles. Formed around 1967, the Brotherhood emerged from the same energy that fueled the city’s psychedelic explosion. Its founders were Brian Eppes, Brother Ed Langdon, Bob Pullum, and Marcus Minimist, and they supposedly picked their name from a tarot card deck while hanging out at the Straight Theatre, a music venue in the Haight-Ashbury.

The Brotherhood of Light mastered what became liquid light shows. Using overhead projectors, dyes, oils between glass, and 16 mm film loops they created flowing kaleidoscopic visuals that pulsed in time with the music. Imagine Jefferson Airplane or The Doors or The Dead playing while glowing colors rippled and morphed across a giant screen behind them. To create a full-on head trip, the foursome experimented constantly, modifying projectors to handle brighter bulbs and new lenses.

While there were other collectives that did light shows, the true revolutionaries were the Brotherhood of Light. They became staples at Fillmore West, the Avalon Ballroom and Winterland Ballroom and to this day the Brotherhood continues with new creatives at the helm, who use the same techniques established in the 1960s, while also including video and digital to the mix.

For connoisseurs of the scene, the Brotherhood of Light was the real deal. During an era when technology was limited to static lights, they turned oil, glass and colors into a living, breathing form of rock art.

Fun fact: In 1989 the BOL name and equipment were sold to Chris Samardizch and his partner Peter Rabinowitz, who continue Brotherhood of Light light shows on various concert tours, most notably with the Allman Brothers. Their process is documented in this behind-the-scenes Youtube video.

You can find history on the Brotherhood of Light here.

For a pre-release discount on The Haunting that Ended the Summer of Love, I invite you to sign the reminder form on this page or click this link.