I got into this because I couldn't stop thinking about sound and light.

DJ Brian Smith at Hotel Adeline during The DJ Collective in Scottsdale Arizona

I'm Brian Smith. I'm a DJ, a lighting designer, and the person behind everything MixLux does.

I've spent 20+ years in music and events. I studied audio engineering in Chicago. I worked live venues, toured with bands, managed festival stages. I eventually landed in the events world and realized that the gap between what events could feel like and what they actually felt like was enormous.

That gap became the whole mission.

MixLux started because I was tired of watching events settle. Tired of DJ lighting that was clearly an afterthought. Tired of receptions that sounded like every other reception. I built the company I wanted to work for.

How I got here.

I started DJing in high school. Music was always the thing. I went to Columbia College in Chicago to study audio engineering, and for a while I stepped away from DJing to focus on that.

What I loved about audio engineering was the same thing I had loved about being behind the decks: you're not the one on stage, but you're shaping how the people in that room feel the music. Every mix, every EQ decision, every lighting cue is invisible to most of the audience. But they feel it. That's the job. Facilitate the experience. Make the art land.

After Chicago I came back to Boston and spent years in live music — venues, touring, festival and corporate event production. That work built the foundation for everything I do now.

In 2013, I was working as an EMT for the City of Boston. I was present at the Boston Marathon bombing.

That experience knocked me sideways for a while. I eventually came back to DJing — not as a career move, but because I needed something that brought joy back. Music had always done that. Getting back behind the decks reminded me why I got into this in the first place.

That rediscovery shaped MixLux more than anything else. This isn't just a business. It's the thing I came back to when I needed it most. I take that seriously, and I think clients feel it.

When something goes wrong at an event — and eventually, something always does — I don't freeze. I've been in situations where freezing wasn't an option. My clients don't see most of what I handle behind the scenes. That's by design.

A few things I won't negotiate on.

Lighting is not a backdrop. It's part of the performance. When it's treated like an afterthought, the room feels like an afterthought. I've made it my mission to change how the events industry thinks about DJ lighting, and I'm not quiet about that.

Music is not a playlist. Anyone can make a playlist. What I do is read a room in real time and build momentum toward moments. That takes years to learn and it's not something you can automate.

Your event should feel like you. Not like a template. Not like a version of the last 50 weddings I did. I ask a lot of questions in planning because the answers actually change what I do on the night.

I take a limited number of events per year on purpose. Not as a marketing tactic. Because doing fewer events means doing them better.

Outside of events.

I speak at DJ and events industry conferences about lighting design. I consult with DJs around the world on how to build better lighting rigs and use light more intentionally. I'm an active member of both the Boston chapter of the International Live Events Association (ILEA) and the Wedding Industry Professionals Association (WIPA Boston), where I previously served as VP of Communications and Treasurer respectively.

I do that work because I genuinely think the industry can be better. Better lighting, better music, better experiences for the people who hire us. That's not a brand value. It's just what I care about.