The 24th annual pipes|drums New Year’s Honours

2024 Pipe Band of the Year

Inveraray & District

The 2024 World Champions, World Drumming Champions, Scottish Champions, runners-up at the other three majors, and RSPBA Grade 1 Champion of Champions for both the band and drum section, Inveraray & District was the popular choice with our panel.

Panellists’ comments:

• They were unbelievably dominant in the crucible of the two-day, four-event Worlds.
• Consistently producing a string of exciting, top-notch performances. And another World Pipe Band Championship.
• Inverary was neck and neck with Field Marshal all year long, but their medley performance on Saturday at the World’s was absolutely the most musical performance start to stop that I have heard, maybe ever.
• Raising the bar yet again, and with a largely new team in the pipe corps . . . hard to see how these guys don’t keep raising that bar even further.
• There are many good choices here, but I think IDPB covers more of the considered elements than any other band with its performances, prizes, soloists, and worldwide teaching reach.
• A phenomenal and consistent band that has made its way to the top with a meteoric rise and consistently stayed there. Absolutely stellar at the World’s this year. Stuart has built a legacy band.
• Winning the World Championships in this tough format is a testament to consistency!
• Anytime a band puts on a performance like they did in their Saturday Medley, you just know you witnessed something special.

Also nominated (in alphabetical order, with a few comments from the panel):

Field Marshal Montgomery – We didn’t realize over the season that it would be the final year for Pipe-Major Richard Parkes, and he left FMM with a bang, winning the British and missing a final 14th World’s title by a smaller margin than the fifth prize suggests.

• Consistently good, outstanding drum corps, four great performances at World’s.

Lochgelly High School 4A – The class with which these young pipers and drummers showed after having their World Championship win pulled from them due to an unfortunate administrative error was a lesson to all. Several panellists were impressed.

• Took a long time to think about this one, but the dignity shown by the band after the results error gets my vote.
• The school piping and drumming programme provides an outstanding opportunity to youngsters. The bands punch well above their weight without any of the facilities and time afforded their private school cousins. How the school handled the disappointment of the RSPBA results debacle at the Worlds was an example to everyone on how to deal with disappointment.
• In a year where no one band dominated in grade 1, Lochgelly reminded us all of what is good in Pipe Bands. To experience the highs of the World Championship, followed by a devastating low, the entire organization carried themselves with grace and maturity. Full marks to the youngsters for showing everyone the best that pipe bands have to offer.

North Stratton – The Edmonton, Canada, band surged forward, pulling together a Grade 2 group that made a serious run at a World Championship victory.

Peoples Ford Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia – The Pre-World’s Concert and taking the runner-up spot at the World’s and the RSPBA Grade 1 Champion of Champions titles for both band and drum section made it quite a year for the reigning World Champions. Retiring Pipe-Major Ross Harvey leaves a very strong band and big shoes to fill for his successor, Calum Watson.

Police Scotland Fife – Pipe-Major David Wilson and Lead-Drummer Mick O’Neill continue to climb ever closer to the big prize, evidenced by a third place in the Champion of Champions Drum Corps table, bolstered by a win at the British.

Ravara – Considering the Grade 2 Northern Ireland band made it to only four contests in 2024, they made the most of them by winning the World’s and the UK, securing the Champion of Champions title, and earning a promotion to Grade 1. Welcome back to the show, Ravara.

Simon Fraser University – The highest finish in many years, a third at the World’s, punctuated with a second in the Friday Medley, continues a positive trend upwards for Vancouver’s finest.