The National Piping Centre is celebrating the launch of the new Piping Times Annual, with a concert tonight, Friday 26th November from 7.30pm.

This new publication is one part of the crowdfunder campaign that ran in May this year. The fundraising drive smashed its original target to raise £33,000 to launch this new Piping Times Annual and digitise the archives of the Piping Times and Piping Today magazines plus the International Piper and Piper and Dancer publications. The publication is A4 sized, with a raft of new features and articles alongside news, results and that Piping Times staple, the crossword!

Constituting the world’s most significant source of piping history, opinion and news, both Piping Times and Piping Today ceased publication in 2020. The unprecedented financial challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic meant The National Piping Centre was forced to make the decision to stop printing the titles, which together recorded over 70 years of piping history. It is hoped that this new publication and the archive project will continue this record of the history of piping traditions into the future.

The National Piping Centre’s Director of Piping, Finlay MacDonald, said: “It’s fantastic to see our new Piping Times Annual published, all thanks to the generosity of our crowdfunding donors. This new publication is an important record for the future, documenting a pivotal moment in piping and preserving the vibrant and ever evolving culture of this great musical tradition. A big thank you to everyone who supported our fundraising campaign to make this new publication and digital archive a reality for the piping community.”

The launch concert, which kicks off at 7.30pm on Friday 26 November at The National Piping Centre, will feature performances from a quartet from 12-time world pipe band champions Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band, Silver Chanter Champion for 2021 Angus MacColl, Uilleann Piper Jarlath Henderson and from up and coming traditional music group Harbour Road, who feature piper Bradley Parker. You can register for tickets now here and it will be available to watch online until Friday 3 December.

The digitisation project is ongoing, but the publication will be posted out to those who have purchased it through the crowdfunder or The Bagpipe Shop from Monday, so look out if you are expecting it! If you havent yet purchased your copy of the new publication, head over to The Bagpipe Shop and order it today here.