Modify only the current system
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Starting bars usually are all clones of the first one. The only way to affect one system and not the others is to collect all the grobs using the all-elements property of any grob on the system in question (for example a NoteHead) and filter the target grob, which you can then modify.
\version "2.24.0"
%% Thanks to David Nalesnik:
%% https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/lilypond-user/2019-03/msg00205.html
#(define drop-in-on-spanner
(lambda (grob)
(let* ((elts (ly:grob-array->list (ly:grob-object (ly:grob-system grob) 'all-elements)))
(ssb (filter (lambda (e) (grob::has-interface e 'system-start-delimiter-interface))
elts)))
(set! (ly:grob-property (car ssb) 'color) red))))
\new StaffGroup <<
\new Staff {
c'1 \break
\tweak after-line-breaking #drop-in-on-spanner
c' \break
c' \break
}
\new Staff {
c' c' c'
}
>>
\paper { tagline = ##f }