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ChamSys powers James McKenna’s busking on Mad Hatter’s Castle Stage at “Beyond Wonderland at The Gorge”

The Gorge Amphitheatre in Grant County, Washington, 150 miles east of Seattle, is one of the most popular outdoor music venues in the United States, offering impressive views of the Columbia River Canyon and - since it’s situated in the middle of a prehistoric rock formation - also serving as a natural acoustic bowl.

Lighting designer James McKenna says he appreciates all the virtues of The Gorge but also knows that the iconic site possesses some challenges. “The Gorge is one of the most beautiful venues to visit - and one of the most punishing to work at”, he states. “You have to contend with the heat, dust, and the aggravation that comes with working there.”

“It’s also far enough from civilization that if you forget to bring something, your options are limited”, he continues. “The venue has done a lot of work over the past couple of years to greatly improve the infrastructure out there. At the end of the day though, when you see how spectacular shows look there, it’s always well worth the effort.”

At the 2026 edition of Insomniac’s “Beyond Wonderland at The Gorge”, McKenna did double-duty - not only did he supervise the set-up of two stages, but he was also asked by Erik Mahowald of Bending Lite Productions to run the lights on Mad Hatter’s Castle Stage. Helping him keep up with every dubstep, trap, and bass, as he busked his way through the three-day festival, was a ChamSys MagicQ MQ500M Stadium console supplied by R90 Lighting.

Lighting all but three of the acts on the stage during the festival, McKenna delighted in mashing buttons aggressively. “Mad Hatter’s Castle is a bass music stage - and bass music is fairly chaotic”, he says. “What I enjoy most about running lights to that style of music is that I get to just go for it with big in your face looks that go in unpredictable directions. The lighting can be as punishing as the sounds emitting from the PA. There is a certain amount of freedom in that you get to use every gimmick that that your rig is capable of when busking that kind of show.”

“The only limitations that you have are your imagination and how much programming time is available”, he adds. “This allows you to blend everything you have in the desk to match the highs and lows on whichever path the music is taking. Since we’re talking about bass music, there are a lot of strobes and shutters. Want to let out some aggression in a healthy way? Busk!”

“I am one of those masochists who would rather build a fresh show every time than retool an old one to fit a new rig”, he furthers. “Each show gets programmed for the rig in front of me. Adapting a previous show’s programming to a completely different setup is sometimes messy, or boring, when you want to busk.”

The 12-key Executor was also helpful to McKenna at “Beyond Wonderland”. “It’s just a nice area to put big reusable looks in an easily accessible space”, he says. “It is where I put my get-out-of-jail-free looks, so if I’m caught off guard, I always have those keys on standby. The MQ500M did not require additional network processing to handle every fixture on this rig in their full channel modes.”

McKenna worked closely with Maryalice Weed, lighting lead from R90, as well as R90 lighting techs Eugene Cognomen and Dwight Upton-Francis.

(Photos: Maryalice Weed)

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