zactrack mini Powers Automated Tracking at Summer Sound 2026 and Valmiera City Festival
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
Two Latvian summer events, two very different stages, and one compact tracking solution: zactrack mini provided automated followspotting at both Summer Sound 2026, Latvia’s largest music festival, and the Valmiera City Festival.
Summer Sound 2026
With more than 40,000 visitors, Summer Sound is Latvia’s largest music festival and one of the Baltics’ leading outdoor music events. This year, zactrack mini was in action on the main stage, providing automated followspotting for three well-known acts – The Big Bad Hit Show, Bermudu Divstūris, and Singapūras Satīns – with a total of 25 performers taking to the stage.
The 12 × 10 m main stage, extended by a 4 × 4 m tongue and side wings, featured four Martin MAC Viper XIP fixtures patched into zactrack mini to automatically follow the performers. Lighting was controlled via grandMA3.
The Big Bad Hit Show performance alone featured 12 artists with 38 songs non-stop in a 60-minute hit mix. “This required careful planning and coordination of tracker assignments”, explains operator Jānis Puķītis, who also managed the tracker distribution throughout the performances.
Valmiera City Fest
The Valmiera City Festival celebrated the Latvian city’s 743rd birthday from July 23–26, 2026. Over the festive days, a 6 × 8 m main stage hosted musical acts into the early hours of the morning. zactrack mini provided automated followspotting for the artists performing on stage, working with 12 Lightsky AQUAPEARL-MINI fixtures.
The system was operated by Jānis Puķītis and received positive feedback from the attending lighting designers. While most were already familiar with zactrack, one designer was using the system for the first time and described it as a great product that simply takes a little getting used to. Others who had worked with it before were very relaxed about the workflow, as Jānis recalls: “The system is perfect – adjust it and you can go do other things or enjoy the show.”
For both events, zactrack mini was supplied by Stage Door Baltic via JP Sound & Light and operated by zactrack expert Jānis Puķītis.
Photos 1-3: © Lauris Vīksne
Photos 4-6: © Jānis Puķītis
zactrack mini supports benno!
zactrack mini supports benno!
