Mob rules just in time for Western Australia Championships

About 45 pipers and drummers orchestrated a surprise flash mob in Perth, Australia, to draw attention to the March 29th State Pipe Band Championships, put on by Pipe Bands Western Australia.

The publicity stunt and the reactions of unsuspecting citizens at Curtin University’s main square were captured by a variety of video cameras and edited into a slick piece now available on YouTube.

The mob starts with snare drummer Gareth McLees of the Grade 1 Western Australia Police Pipe Band, who’s joined by Laura McMillan of the same band with a rendition of “Highland Cathedral,” and then the graduated appearance of nearly 50 other players.

Pipe Band Western Australia has been busy with social media seeding the video, which has had several thousand views in a few days.

“Every regional band association struggles with ways to get the news out about their championships,” said Malcolm MacLean, vice-chair of Pipe Bands Western Australia. “Students were curious to watch a lone drummer walk out onto the courtyard near the library building, and then a little astonished when a young female student picked up bagpipes to play along. But when seven separate pipe bands started marching from different directions of the campus, the whole university suddenly became engaged.”

The Australia pipe band scene comprises several separate associations from the country’s various states. Every two years the collective Pipe Bands Australia stages a national championship. The next Australian & South Pacific Pipe Band Championship will be held on April 12-13 in Ballarat.

The Western Australia State Pipe Band Championships are scheduled to be held March 29th at Curtin University.