A Woman’s Piping is Never Done – Piping Live! 2025, Tuesday, August 12th

Iain MacDonald (Regina) reports from the Glasgow International Festival of Piping

If the days are to have themes, then today started smartly with “Learn @ Live! with Louise Mulcahy.” Mulcahy is a masterful uilleann piper, flute player, and brilliant researcher and folklorist. Her primary interest is the story of women in uilleann piping, some of which has been made available online and through talks and exhibitions.

About a dozen or so folk gathered in a wide semicircle to hear her discuss the construction and function of uilleann pipes. She explained the various parts of the pipes, described how they work, and then demonstrated with beautifully played tunes.

Her discussion of the history of the pipes touched on her research into performers of the past. These women, at the turn of the 19th to 20th century, played both “warpipes” and uilleann pipes, and their performances were noted in the local press. Many of that generation, especially those who followed, gave up piping for family and financial reasons, selling pipes to pay for housing or children’s education.

Mulcahy got into piping because she loved the sound, and pursued lessons at a time when she was often the only girl taking lessons or playing pipes. She reports that this is no longer the case, and there are both numbers and quality of female players worldwide, especially in Ireland.

In fairness, one of the pizza choices included haggis as a topping, and what’s more Scottish than that?

Mulcahy played several sets of tunes on her pipes in C and demonstrated the tonality of a concert D chanter for all to hear. It was an engaging session, and people were keen to talk with her after.

The learning session finished just in time to grab a bite to eat at the festival kitchen tent, which offers burgers, pizza and the more Scottish pie and mash, although in fairness, one of the pizza choices included haggis as a topping, and what’s more Scottish than that? One of the new sponsors is Glasgow’s Belhaven Brewery, and chilled pints seemed to be going down well as the afternoon wore on and the temperature reached a sunny 28°C.

The general impression people had was that the number of people attending was strong on Monday and Tuesday, and this was certainly borne out in the events I saw throughout the day.

The main stage started with Argyle band Rhuvall, a six-piece ensemble that filled the stage with people and the festival area with great tunes.

I went to the “78th Frasers Live in Ireland Listen Party” in the National Piping Centre auditorium, and it had a good crowd of people there to hear the vinyl LP played, and then some discussion with a panel comprising Reid Maxwell, Bruce Gandy, Michael Grey, Chris Ross, Ian K. MacDonald, and moderated by Gary West. It was a decent concept, but most of the time was spent listening to the tracks, and not enough time diving into the details and the stories.

The key tracks were “Journey to Skye,” the World’s-winning “Up to the Line” medley, and some solo tracks. It was poignant to hear the late Bill Livingstone play the urlar of “Lament for the Children” and fun to hear the solo tracks by Gandy, Grey and Maxwell, but 6/8 marches and MSRs left me thinking there was somewhere else I should be. It was nice to hear Reid Maxwell describe how Livingstone directed the overall approach to the music and about the impact of bass drummer Luke Allen on the overall sound.

As a member of the pipe band that came second in 1987 (and again in 1988), I’d say that sometimes a little too much might be made of that one World’s win, but it was a moment worth celebrating and certainly great to remember the pipe band contributions of the amazing Bill Livingstone.

By the time the listening party ended, the auditorium was hot enough to steam a haggis, so out into the festival site at the front for a few tunes from Ukrainian band Kyiv Ethno Trio, featuring a trio of skilled multi-instrumentalists, where the pints were now flowing and people were enjoying the sunshine.

In the Bothy Tent, piper and composer John Dew launched a new collection and played some tunes. Later, a book about the stories behind tune names was launched, with Willie McCallum providing the music on a brilliant bagpipe despite the stifling heat in the tent.

A meander down Buchanan Street back to the B&B for a break, and there was the Brisbane Boys College, Australia, laying down their tunes in the shady spots, with an excellent overall sound. It appears that visiting pipers are making the most of the piping mayhem, with buskers appearing randomly on Argyle Street and other locations.

After a break, it was back to the National Piping Centre auditorium for a concert billed “Bann/Spirit of Ceòlas.” The concert featured several brilliant performers, all female, and all with a musical foundation in one of the Gaelic-language regions.

The first half was sponsored by Ceòlas, which has grown from a summer school to a full-time Gaelic organization and is celebrating its 30th anniversary. The set featured Sheena Peteranna (smallpipes, flute, whistles), Megan Henderson (fiddle, vocals, step-dance), Ingrid Henderson (piano, clàrsach) and Sandra Robertson (step-dance, vocals).

This was a magnificent performance, with stunning vocals and instrumentals, great dancing and storytelling and even a few good jokes, sometimes in English, and sometimes in Gaelic.

The second half of the evening featured a performance organized by piper Brìghe Chaimbeul, who was featured recently The New Yorker. Joining her was uilleann piper Louise Mulcahy, fiddler Isla Callister, Gaelic singer Kirsty-Ann McInnes and Ingrid Henderson, supporting on piano and clàrsach.

The musicians worked their way through several interesting and unusual combinations of instruments and vocals, but they blended so well and featured both familiar and new music and songs from the Scots Gaelic, Irish, and Manx traditions. The crowd was enthusiastic and appreciative all evening. This was a superbly delivered and interesting night of music, capping a full day that barely touched the offerings available at Piping Live!

Stay tuned to pipes|drums for Iain MacDonald’s next report from the 2025 Piping Live! festival.