Archive
We continue with the ninth installment of 10 “Castle Recordings” piobaireachds in our exclusive series of performances captured on reel-to-reel tape at Edinburgh Castle in the early 1960s by the late Captain John A. MacLellan MBE. “The Battle of Bealach nam Brog” “The Big Spree” “The Black Wedder’s White Tail” […]
Peoples Ford Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia Leading-Drummer Kerr McQuillan will defend his title, Inveraray & District Leading-Drummer Steven McWhirter will go for his twelfth trophy, and all of the other 30 of the globe’s greatest pipe band snare drummers – several of whom have been knocking on the door – […]
We take a look at the British Columbia Pipers Association’s recently formed Youth Committee and speak with three members: Grace Barnes, Aiden Fowler, and Jack Martin.
Saint Mark Presbyterian Church hosted the 41st Nicol-Brown Amateur Invitational Solo Piping Championship. After completing the three events, Gillian Blaney of Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia, emerged as the overall winner.
The popular Kincardine Scottish Festival in Kincardine, Ontario, has revealed that it plans to send the Pipers & Pipe Band Society of Ontario an official letter of no confidence in the PPBSO’s board of directors. According to a source close to the matter, the organizers of the event, which is […]
The Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association’s Music Board is reportedly recommending that the Friday of the 2025 World Pipe Band Championships include a Grade 2 competition or competitions in addition to the usual two Grade 1 events. According to sources, the news was brought up at the RSPBA’s Glasgow & […]
With an MSR win and a second in the Piobaireachd, Callum Beaumont of St. Andrews, Scotland, emerged the overall winner of the Premier Grade at the annual Captain John MacLellan Memorial Army School Solo Piping Competition at Inchdrewer House, Redford Barracks.
The third annual Sun Belt Invitational Solo Piping Competition will take place on November 9th at the Orlando Sheraton North Hotel and the 10 contestants have been firmed, along with the tunes they’ll be playing in the Piobaireachd event: Callum Beaumont, St. Andrews, Scotland, “Lament for MacLeod of Colbeck” Glenn […]
In the 15 years since she started her business, Islay Spalding’s bespoke kilt pins have become one of piping and drumming’s true style differentiators. In a sea of uniform similarity, her unique, custom and often quirky designs have set kilt-wearers apart with a small yet subtly distinct statement of their […]
“In all those years, that was 1987, and we’re now 26 years later, it’s the first I’ve heard of it.” Those were the words of the late Ken Eller in 2013, perhaps the most extraordinary moment in the 35 years we’ve conducted interviews. We had reunited former Clan MacFarlane pipers […]
As pipes|drums first calculated after the last prizes of the Northern Meeting were announced, the 10 pipers who by winning designated qualifying competitions are confirmed to compete at the 2024 Glenfiddich Solo Piping Championships on October 26th at Blair Castle in Blair Atholl, Scotland: Chris Armstrong, Glasgow – Argyllshire Gathering Formers […]
William R. Fraser, known to most as Bill, died on September 24, 2024, in Aberdeen, Scotland, at the age of 80. He was most known as a solo piping judge, and though he did not compete much, he might have made a considerable name in piping with his steady temperament […]
The Commonwealth Pipes & Drums of Melrose, Massachusetts, was the overall winner of the top grade at the 2024 Celtic Classic in the historic downtown of Bethlehem. The band finished second in both Grade 3 Medley and MSR contests, which were won by New York Metro and McMillan-Birtles, respectively. Eight bands competed in Grade 3. The Grade 4 band contest was held on September 28th.
The motto for George Watson’s College is “Ex Corde Caritas” (Latin for “Love from the Heart”) and the stalwart producer of some of Scotland’s top pipers and drummers will stage the second annual Caritas Banner for piobaireachd players 18 and younger on November 24th at the college. in Collinton, on […]
With two second prizes, Tyler Bridge of Guelph, Ontario, was the winner of the 2024 Glengarry Cup Solo Piping Competition, an event put on by the Ottawa Branch of the PPBSO and originally organized in the 1980s by the Glengarry Pipe Band of Maxville, Ontario. The contest is traditionally held on the same weekend as the National Police and Peacekeepers’ Memorial events on Parliament Hill in Canada’s capital city.
Several sources close to the matter revealed that a formal letter from the Alliance of North American Pipe Band Associations (ANAPBA) to the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association is in its final draft phase. The letter reportedly expresses several concerns regarding the RSPBA’s repeated practice of re-grading North American association-member […]