About 30 years ago, the Simon Fraser University Pipe Band travelled to Scotland to compete in the World Championships. There was plenty of discussion (and ridicule from other bands) that every band ...

Oswald “Ozzie” Reid, whose decades as a pipe-major, teacher, judge, and administrator made him one of the more influential figures in the development of piping and pipe bands in the western United ...

Glasgow – August 30, 2026 – Kyle Shead of Glasgow won the Competing Pipers’ Association’s Bronze Medal for Piobaireachd, held at the National Piping Centre’s Otago Street branch. By winning, Shead ...

A correction was made on Aug. 30, 2026: we later discovered that Cameron Bonar won the overall trophy after a tie was broken on the better Piobaireachd result. The article was adjusted accordingly and ...

Next in our exclusive 2026 Set Tunes Series by Willie Donaldson is “The Pride of Barra,” a piobaireachd included on the Piobaireachd Society’s list of pieces eligible for submission to the Highland ...

pipes|drums’ intrepid photographer Alister Sinclair was on the prowl on the second day of the Argyllshire Gathering through the town of Oban and at Mossfield Park, the traditional venue for the ...

Air travel with Highland pipes can be fraught with anxiety. Knowing airlines’ policies, rules, and procedures – and your rights as a musician-passenger – can mitigate the risk of having your delicate ...

The Irish Pub in Koblenz, Germany, will be the venue for the 2026 European Amateur Solo Piping Knockout Competition, 18:00, 20:00, November 28th, with six players involved (alphabetical by last name): ...

Iain MacDonald (Regina) reports from the epicentre of piping (and drumming) . . . Piping Live! officially began on Sunday with the Masters competition, but Monday morning is when the full festival ...

Iain MacDonald (Regina) reports from the epicentre of piping (and drumming) . . . The Rose & Thistle Ladies Pipe Band getting serious at rehearsal. Another day, and another walk down the road to the ...

Glasgow – August 10, 2026 – The first heat of Piping Live!’s 2026 Pipe Idol competition was won by Liam Nicolson of Melbourne, Australia, chosen by an unidentified group of three judges to go through ...

Iain MacDonald (Regina) reports from the epicentre of piping (and drumming) . . . Bracing for another full day of events, there seemed no choice other than to start the day with a visit to the small ...