Piping Live! launched at Glasgow’s George Square

An international line-up of pipe bands started the 2006 Piping Live! Festival at George Square in Glasgow this morning. Following a media briefing, the Patalia Pipe Band from Lahore, Pakistan, started the proceedings with a short set of tunes. The Patalia Pipe Band made an appearance in Grade 4B at the 2005 World’s, where it captured the Dress & Deportment award.

Crowds four-to-six people deep were entertained by the City of Regina Pipe Band of Saskatchewan, Canada, the City of Blacktown Pipe Band, Australia, and the Australia Highlanders.

Festival sponsors Glenfiddich had an extensive display at the Square, and a full day of music shows began at the site following the pipe bands.

Bruce Gandy of Halifax had the National Piping Centre stage at 1 p.m. for his recital, and this year he shared the stage with his son, Alex, who performed for 30 minutes for an eager crowd.

Later in the day, Alex Gandy won the day’s Pipe Idol contest. Four excellent young pipers each played a Hornpipe & Jig, MSR and then a medley to an appreciative audience in the Piping Centre Café. Alex moves on to the final later in the week, to be joined by pipers winning the next draws.

With so many pipe bands in and around Glasgow for the upcoming week, the various festival venues were awash in familiar and hallowed piping and pipe band people, and Glasgow delivered a beautiful day for the start of this years’s event.

p|d

What do you think? We always want to hear from our readers, so please use our comment system to provide your thoughts!

Do you have news? Be sure to send your information to pipes|drums. We can’t report what we don’t know about! Please remember to support the businesses that advertise and make the not-for-profit p|d possible.