Vari-Lite #1116

Vari-Lite is an American manufacturer of professional stage lighting equipment (intelligent moving LED fixtures, control consoles, power distribution systems, and architectural lighting) for concert tours, theaters, TV/film, stadiums, and corporate events. A pioneer of automated lighting with color- and position-changing capability.

The company grew out of the Texas sound company Showco (founded by Jack Calmes and Rusty Brutsché). In 1980, engineer Jim Bornhorst applied dichroic filters to change the color of light, and following investment from the band Genesis in 1981, the Vari-Lite company was formed: its first fixture, the VL1, debuted on September 25, 1981, at the opening of Genesis's Abacab tour in Barcelona. In 1997 the company went public on NASDAQ (ticker LITE). In 2002 the manufacturing division was sold to Genlyte Group, which was acquired by Philips Lighting in 2008; today the Vari-Lite brand is part of Signify (formerly Philips Lighting).