Archive
As his band continues to search for a leading-drummer, Pipe-Major Donald Mackay discusses his optimism for the challenges ahead
First held in 1979 at the Tullymore House Hotel in Broughshane, the Northern Ireland Piper of the Year Solo Piping Competition has been a staple of the vibrant Ulster scene. This year’s competition will be held on September 27th at the Adair Arms Hotel in Ballymena. The Piobaireachd will begin […]
At just 17 years old, Cameron Bonar of Surrey, British Columbia, is hoovering up prizes not seen by a piper his age since the teenaged days of the legendary John D. Burgess in the late 1940s. A pupil of the renowned Jack Lee and the son of the late, great […]
With a new tagline of “Same Spirit. New Stage,” Pipe Bands Australia is combining the Australian Juvenile Pipe Band Championships and Australian Solo Piping and Drumming Championships into three days of competitions from Friday, October 3rd, to Sunday, October 5th, at the Scots School, Albury, New South Wales. The first […]
“I still don’t understand why somebody hadn’t written something like that already. Because it just seemed like a perfectly natural thing to do.”
The Glenfiddich Solo Piping Championship is the world’s pre-eminent competition. Pipers gain invitations by winning any of these prestigious events (current winner): The previous year’s Glenfiddich Champion (Callum Beaumont, Guardbridge, Scotland) The Clasp at the Northern Meeting (Stuart Liddell, Inveraray, Scotland) Senior Piobaireachd at the Argyllshire Gathering (Stuart Liddell) Silver […]
The famous jazz composer who made one of the most influential pieces of music for pipe bands in history discusses how his suite evolved from humble beginnings.
Described as “a smarter way to practice and organize bagpipe music,” software engineer and piper Bruce Rankine has created “Braw Tunes,” an app with the promise to “help pipers worldwide practice more effectively, organize their music, and stay connected to their repertoire like never before.” Similar to the well-known “Shazam” […]
To commemorate the seventy-fifth anniversary of the 16-year-old John. D. Burgess completing “The Double” – winning both Highland Society of London Gold Medals in the same year – the Northern Meeting presented a special kilt pin designed and made by Islay Spalding Kilt Pins. The John D. Burgess Memorial Kilt […]
The second and final day of the 2025 Northern Meeting saw Stuart Liddell of Inveraray, Scotland, win his fourth Clasp, reserved for winners of at least one of the Highland Society Gold Medals at Inverness or Oban. He went on to win the Premier/A-Grade Hornpipe & Jig event. Sarah Muir of Glasgow won the A-Grade MSR, catapulting her into the Silver Star Former Winners’ MSR competition for the rest of her piping days.
Brodie Watson-Massey of Edinburgh added his name to the history books by winning the Highland Society of London’s Gold Medal at the 2025 Northern Meeting, the world’s longest-running and most important non-invitational solo piping competition. It was Watson-Massey’s first time playing in the event after winning the 2024 Silver Medal for Piobaireachd at the same venue. Apart from Steven Leask, who won the Argyllshire Gathering Gold Medal, the Inverness prize list featured different pipers.
One-hundred-eighty-four years ago the first Northern Meeting was held in Inverness, making it the longest-running solo piping competition in the world. The 2025 edition will be held on Thursday, September 11th, and Friday, September 12th, at its familiar Eden Court Theatre venue on the west bank of the River Ness. […]
After 50 years as pipe-sergeant of Grade 1 Simon Fraser University, six World Championship wins, and countless competition performances, Jack Lee has decided to retire from pipe band competition. “It has been a terrific 50-year run, but I have decided to retire from the competition band,” Lee said. “The band […]
The Chicago Highland Games have risen in stature over the last decade, and now the organizers have confirmed that 2025 World Champions Inveraray & District will attend the 2026 edition of the event, June 12-13 in Naperville, Illinois. The band will perform on Friday, June 12th at 7 pm at […]
Winning both light Open music events, Ben Duncan of Edinburgh won the aggregate trophy in the senior events at the 2025 Blairgowrie & Rattray Highland Games, which featured the usual large entry of solo pipers for a final run through of tunes before the Northern Meeting at Inverness.
Cool but dry conditions prevailed at the Royal Braemar Gathering, where 17-year-old Cameron Bonar of Surrey, British Columbia, was the overall winner in the senior solo piping events, taking two seconds and a third against a strong field.