Getting it going at Gourock: 2026 UK band season launches May 10th

After a long, cold, lonely winter, the bell finally rings at Gourock, Scotland, on Sunday, May 10th for the beginning of the northern hemisphere’s 2026 outdoor pipe band season.

Fifty-one bands across all grades are entered at the “minor” RSPBA competition, governed by the association’s Glasgow & West of Scotland branch. Weather can be notoriously iffy, but bands this year will likely contend with temperatures around 12°C, a light breeze, and little chance of rain.

Shotts & Dykehead Caledonia is the only certifiable Grade 1 band entered, but several Grade 2 bands are accepting the invitation to challenge up in the own-choice medley event:

• Coalburn IOR (Gr2)
• Denny & Dunnipace (Gr2)
• Oban (Gr2)
• Shotts & Dykehead Caledonia

Eight are in for the Grade 2 own-choice MSR contest, with only two certified for the standard, and six Grade 3A and Grade 3B bands playing up:

• Coalburn IOR
• Denny & Dunipace
• Kilbarchan (Gr3B)
• Lower Clyde (Gr3B)
• Milngavie (Gr3B)
• Oban
• Uddingston Strathclyde (Gr3A)
• Williamwood (Gr3B)

Denny & Dunipace were the top winners of the 2025 Gourock Highland Games, winning the Grade 1 competition that featured no actual Grade 1 bands.

With pipe bands straining to afford attending just the five major championships, minor competitions continue to see smaller entries, particularly in the top grades, than in years past, when Grade 1 would often feature as many as 18 entries. Today, there are six competing Grade 1 bands in Scotland.

Regardless, the start of any pipe band competition season is always a welcome and exciting relief.

Stay tuned to pipes|drums for results from Gourock as they become available.

An amendment was made on May 10, 2026: MacKenzie Caledonian withdrew from the Grade 2 competition. The article was adjusted accordingly.