🏰 Edinburgh Castle once again provided one of the UK’s most spectacular live music settings this July (2026), with seven very different productions taking place across two weekends on a custom 15m VerTech stage designed and delivered by Star Live.
The programme opened with Callum Beattie and Garbage, followed by Critical Role’s live Dungeons & Dragons show featuring the Mighty Nein, before James Taylor performed midweek. Deacon Blue and Snow Patrol then took over the second weekend, with the series closing in style as Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban™ was screened alongside the Royal Scottish National Orchestra performing John Williams’ iconic score live.
Delivering such a varied programme at Edinburgh Castle also meant planning the build around the site itself. As a protected historic site that remained open to visitors throughout, construction was carefully scheduled around public access
The five-day build included two pit camera platforms, a front-of-house camera platform and a downstage roof extension. For the Harry Potter performance, our team also installed a 15m x 1.3m stage extension to accommodate the orchestra.
These additions allowed the stage to adapt to the unique requirements of each production while retaining the same core VerTech structure throughout the series.
Huge thanks to Castle Concerts Limited, our project partners and the entire Star Live team who delivered the project on site. Special thanks to Rab Randall, Production Manager, and John Skinhead Miller, Site Manager, at Castle Concerts for their collaboration throughout.
📸 Photo credit: Dungeons & Dragons – Scott MacDonald
The programme opened with Callum Beattie and Garbage, followed by Critical Role’s live Dungeons & Dragons show featuring the Mighty Nein, before James Taylor performed midweek. Deacon Blue and Snow Patrol then took over the second weekend, with the series closing in style as Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban™ was screened alongside the Royal Scottish National Orchestra performing John Williams’ iconic score live.
Delivering such a varied programme at Edinburgh Castle also meant planning the build around the site itself. As a protected historic site that remained open to visitors throughout, construction was carefully scheduled around public access
The five-day build included two pit camera platforms, a front-of-house camera platform and a downstage roof extension. For the Harry Potter performance, our team also installed a 15m x 1.3m stage extension to accommodate the orchestra.
These additions allowed the stage to adapt to the unique requirements of each production while retaining the same core VerTech structure throughout the series.
Huge thanks to Castle Concerts Limited, our project partners and the entire Star Live team who delivered the project on site. Special thanks to Rab Randall, Production Manager, and John Skinhead Miller, Site Manager, at Castle Concerts for their collaboration throughout.
📸 Photo credit: Dungeons & Dragons – Scott MacDonald