February 4, 2026
LightX Tried to Sit One Out. The Industry Pushed Back.
Plans to pause fell flat as a chorus of customers and manufacturers pulled LightX back to Dallas
LightX was never supposed to happen in 2026. After a record-setting turnout in 2025 and three straight years of growth, the plan was to take a breather. Pause for a year. But the inboxes and iMessages had other ideas.
The event is hosted by Bell & McCoy and FRM Lighting & Controls, a mega agency representing major lighting and controls brands across the Southern U.S. With a footprint spanning 13 states and more than 20 markets, the agency has a reputation for drawing lighting decision-makers from Tempe to Tampa. So when manufacturers started asking if LightX was really skipping a year, it wasn’t idle curiosity — it was pressure.
“Before LightX 2025 even wrapped, we started getting messages…not just from our manufacturers, but from customers too…asking if we were really going to wait until 2027,” said Rob Duncan, Bell & McCoy's President of Lighting & Controls. “We heard them loud and clear.”
And so, just like that, the pause became a pivot. LightX is back in 2026 — not because it was scheduled, but because it was demanded. The calls, the texts, the emails — they didn’t just encourage a return. They made it inevitable.
A Venue Worth Repeating, A Format Worth Repeating
Once again, the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine, Texas will serve as the backdrop — a choice that’s both strategic and sentimental. “The resort earned rave reviews for LightX 2024,” said Duncan. “It made sense to write the next chapter in the same place.”
Above: Bell & McCoy's Chris Coursey kicks off LightX 2025
The formula remains familiar: lighting exhibits and CEU courses by day, pool parties and concerts by night, and an exhibit hall where handshakes matter as much as the hardware. The dates are locked; July 27-28, 2026. The vibe: part summit, part reunion, part soft power play.
“Every time we do LightX, it gets bigger. Not because we push it harder, but because people really see the value,” Kody Ellis of Bell & McCoy added. “This time, we’re just responding to what the market continues to tell us.”
Manufacturers Said Yes Before the Invites Even Landed
Among the earliest confirmations: Current, Lutron, Williams, LSI Industries and LEDI. The usual suspects — but also the big dogs who partner with the mega agency across large swaths of the Southern U.S.
"This is one of the most dynamic shows on the market," said Chip Taylor, Chief Commercial Officer at Current. "We connect with specifiers from all over. The network Bell & McCoy has built brings in a range of customers that's tough to match."
Above: Kurtzon showcases healthcare and cleanroom lighting solutions in the exhibit hall.
For many, LightX offers something rare: the chance to talk shop at a lighting booth, then deepen the conversation over barbecue or beers, or even between splashes in the pool. It’s business that breathes — a working retreat where product demos and relationship-building happen in the same sunlit afternoon.
That blend of regional depth and relaxed focus has made LightX hard to skip — even in a year it wasn’t supposed to exist.
Tim Boyd of Save Electronics attended for the first time in 2025 and left convinced: “It’s fantastic. A lot of good companies here — and Bell & McCoy is great to work with.”
Behind the Buzz: A Lighting Agency That Keeps Raising the Bar
It’s hard to ignore the scale. Bell & McCoy and FRM — two powerhouse agencies that merged in 2023 — now host a private lighting event that draws over 1,000 attendees. That kind of turnout, without a national trade show badge, doesn’t happen by accident.
It happens when an agency turns a rep-led gathering into something bigger — blending education, hospitality, and strategy into a format that keeps people coming back. Not because they’re asked to, but because they want to.
“We’re not chasing growth for its own sake,” Duncan noted. “We’re building something people want to be part of.”
So yes, LightX is happening in 2026. Not because it had to. Because it couldn’t not.
For something that wasn’t on the schedule, LightX 2026 is shaping up like the main event.
Sponsored Content:
This article is presented in partnership with Bell & McCoy and FRM Lighting & Controls.
