Piping Live! turns 10 with official launch of 2013 festival

The tenth anniversary version of the Piping Live! Glasgow International Festival of Piping was launched officially with the promise of new venues, including the use of St. Enoch Square as a new hub over the August 10-18 festival, by far the largest of its kind in the world.

St. Enoch Square, near Glasgow Green, replaces George Square while the latter undergoes renovations, and the National Piping Centre continues to be the true centre of the festival for pipers and drummers taking in the camaraderie and performances that Piping Live! offers. The festival will also for the first time make use of the New Atheneum at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, where the annual International Quartet Competition will be held.

Organizers said that the 2012 edition of Piping Live! and the World Pipe Band Championships attracted more than 50,000 spectators and more than 8,000 musicians to Glasgow, and that the 2013 festival is expected to see those numbers increase.  

The line-up for Piping Live! was launched at St Enoch Square with members of the National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland, who unveiled an oversized set of pipes, intended to represent the scale of the 2013 festival.

“Over the last 10 years we have brought the best pipers and traditional musicians from all over the globe to perform at the festival,” said Roddy MacLeod, director of the festival. “We’ve seen everything from the best solo pipers in the world perform to bands that mix the pipes with electronic music and it just gets more exciting each year.  We also have a few surprises up our sleeves so come join celebrate our birthday with us this August.”

Tickets for the festival go on sale on May 1st.

MacLeod said that the Masters Invitational Solo Pipign Competition, normally held on the Sunday after the World’s, will now be on the first weekday of Piping Live! in a “Masters Monday” event.