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A good number of stage lighting controllers have the ability to interface with and handle MIDI, but the vast majority of stage lighting equipment is controlled using DMX[1]. The two have a lot in common, being pretty much ubiquitous and rock-solid even given their age.

[1] - http://www.dmx-512.com/dmx-protocol/dmx-protocol-basics/

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I think it’s likely they were confused also by the physical connector - DMX can and often does use the same 5 pin connector as MIDI, if I’m not mistaken.

Nah, I was just wrong :-) I know a lot of big touring productions drive lighting and patch changes off the same clock (usually a laptop which provides time code, possibly backing tracks, and possibly patch changes for effects and synths), and misremembered that lighting typically used a different protocol even if it’s the same program driving everything.

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