To me, playing my kind of music is fun: Scottish musician RuMac
Times of India | 8 December 2025
We caught up with Scottish musician and accordionist Ruairidh Maclean aka RuMac as he was unwinding after a gig in Kolkata on the evening of December 4 and fired the obvious salvo – ‘How do you like Kolkata?’, ‘Have you seen the city yet?’, ‘Any dish you tasted here?’ He said, “Pffft. Nothing. We landed in Kolkata last Friday... No? Saturday... my body clock was really off, I went straight to bed, the next day, we started for Nagaland (to perform at the Hornbill Festival). That’s it (grins).”
THE HORNBILL EXPERIENCE
Speaking about his performance at the Hornbill Festival in Kohima, Nagaland, on December 2, RuMac said he goes to every gig with an open mind. “I like to be surprised. You see, in the UK, people hate the accordion, so I was wondering how it was going to go down in India. But the crowd was brilliant! I could see their heads moving, and it pushed me to go on.”
When we asked him if he experienced anything local in the Northeast state, RuMac told us about having lunch at a local eatery. On the menu was pork cooked using Naga chilies, among other dishes. “It was crazy hot, mate! This guy was asking me, ‘Do you like it?’ I was red-faced, sweating, and I could only nod. That was a crazy experience we had. Must say it was excellent, extremely hot, but great.”
He went on to add that he shared the taste of music with the people of the state. “We were on our way back, and the driver was playing rock and metal tracks in the car. My kind of music! It was really nice.”
THE ‘STUPID SCOTTISH MUSIC’
About his genre of music, which is a quirky mishmash of covers and originals, RuMac said, “I call it Stupid Scottish music. To me, it’s fun. I have fun playing it. And yeah, people like it too. Pffft if they don’t (laughs).”
Along his journey, he said Britain’s Got Talent was a major break. “But I’ve been gigging since 2019, though Covid kind of slowed things down. Things took off again in 2022. The show helped me get gigs. So, I thought, ‘Do I stay true to my roots, or get on the stage and make a fool of myself?’ (Laughs) Then I thought, ‘Nah! Let’s make a fool of myself, rather than regret it later’. The show has also given me a lot of opportunities. So that’s good.”
When asked about his plans after flying home, RuMac said, “There’s this tour of England, and I want to get back in the studio. Some music I heard at Hornbill has really inspired me to start making something.”