ChamSys at Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival, Scotland

	"We wanted a strong visual identity, with intense reds, ambers, and fiery tones creating a feeling of heat and aggression. The lighting was to feel like part of the performance, rather than simply illuminate the stage," says McCracken.

The Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival, located on the historic 1,150-acre Belladrum Estate just west of Inverness, Scotland, is rich in Scottish traditions from late-night ceilidh dancing to vibrant storytelling.

Steve "Mac" McCracken of Mac-Events drew on the latter when lighting the 2026 festival headliner show by the multi-award-winning singer/songwriter, Callum Beattie. Given that Beattie's set was 90 minutes, McCracken had ample time to unfold what he called a "visual story" that moved in unison with his client's music.

"The aim was to create a lighting show that was energetic, powerful and really connected to the music," McCracken says. "We wanted a strong visual identity, with intense reds, ambers, and fiery tones creating a feeling of heat and aggression. The lighting was to feel like part of the performance, rather than simply illuminate the stage."

McCracken and his team worked the ChamSys Magic MQ250MStadium Console to conjure up programmed sequences and live busking looks from their Limelight Event Services rig. "Our lighting followed the music and energy of the performance," he says. "We could build looks gradually, strip things back and then hit the bigger moments with maximum movement, color and intensity. The MQ250M was ideal for this because we could have a large number of programmed looks and effects available while still retaining full live control.

"We also used our floor package to create a specific look for Callum while still having the festival rig to complement the design," McCracken says. "The festival rig was the main structure for the larger-scale lighting system, particularly the overhead coverage and fixtures already installed in the rig. Our own hanging and wheeled pre-rigs were then integrated into that system to give us the specific looks we wanted for Callum. Limelights Event Services provided a great platform for us to build the show around with their festival rig, in addition to giving us great support all around. Festivals like this are always a team effort, and having a good relationship between the artist, lighting team, production and festival supplier makes a massive difference."

He adds that the MQ250M made the production process easier. "Even under the best of circumstances, there are always challenges when taking a pre-programmed show into a festival environment because the available rig can be different from what you originally designed around," he explained. "The MQ250M made that process much easier. We could adapt the patch, fixture selection and programming quickly and integrate our own hanging and wheeled pre-rigs with the festival system."

McCracken says that "flexibility" was one of the biggest advantages of using the MQ250M on this project. He also listed "speed of programming" and playback as key features. On the latter, he notes, "Playback and busking capabilities were critical, allowing us to have programmed looks ready to go while still being able to react live to the music and performance. The MQ250M allowed us to build a large part of the show in advance and then adapt it once we knew exactly what the festival rig looked like. That saved a huge amount of time."