By CHRIS MacKENZIE • Glasgow Royal Concert Hall • 12/08/2026
They didn’t know thirty-nine years ago, that their youthful band full of ‘piss and vinegar’ – Pipe Major Michael Grey’s description at last year’s Ballymena retrospective – would make music that would completely reshape opinion on what a pipe band can do. This would lead to the creation a few years later in 1994, of the World’s concert featuring, naturally, the 78th’s. The rest, as the saying goes, is history with the 78th’s under Pipe Major Bill Livingstone remaining the pre-eminent concert pipe band, with numerous World’s concert appearances always pushing the boundaries and providing great entertainment.
History creates its own pressure, something I’m sure new PM and ‘one of the last men standing from Ballymena’, Michael Grey, was acutely aware of as he prepared for this concert. If anyone was going to be up to the task of filling the boots of the legend Bill Livingstone, then seen it, done it, got the t-shirt Michael Grey should be the man. That this concert would build on that legacy was evident from the haunting strains of, North America’s greatest folksong, Wayfaring Stranger, as the powerful voice of Ashlyn MacDonald and her a cappella version of the song, enthralled the audience before the band picked the melody up for a couple of times through, and then stopped to let Ashlyn close the song out. One set in and the bar is already set high. What followed was a concert rich in colour and musical diversity.
PM Grey’s inspirations were from the North American, Canadian, French Canadian, Irish, Breton and of course Scots traditions. This was a melding of not just the Scots diaspora and their influence but also the wider Celtic world into one glorious night of music. That diversity of inspiration saw the band give a cracking rendition of Simon Jeffes’, of The Penguin Café fame, Music for a Found Harmonium – not sure I’ve ever heard a pipe band play that before, following it with The Fox Hunters and Sleepy Maggie for a very musical set.
The French-Canadian connection came via an old folktale, The Legend of The Flying Canoe, a supernatural tale, of love, drink and deals with the devil. Composed entirely of French-Canadian tunes this set was beautifully expressed by the dancers and the audio visual running an animated version of the tale.
Inspiration was also drawn from Psalmody presenting tradition of the Western Isles for the Gratitude set. This tradition has the Precentor sing out the line of the psalm and the audience sing it back, but not in perfect unison, instead each singer sings the line back with their own adaptations and embellishments to give one of the most powerful and emotional sounds you can hear. As a recording of the presenting rang out this Lewisman had a lump in his throat the size of the Ness Lighthouse. The band then played a lovely version of the psalm tune Martyrs. Did it capture the swelling crescendo of this raw emotional music? Well, no, but it was still a lovely piece of music.
Brittany got in on the act with the Gael meets Breton set as the traditional Dùthaich nan Craobh (Land of the Trees) was paired with the Breton Concerto d’ asccenseur (Elevator Concerto) by Christian Méhat creating an exciting and dynamic set.
The obligatory solo spots were taken by Tyler Harris, McGregor Van de Ven, Andrew Hayes and Ian K. MacDonald. They all excelled and after the second set the two pipes three pipers combo that had the audience singing along to Flower of Scotland, was a touch of humour, that went down very well with the audience.
The Stan Rodgers classic, The Northwest passage, described by co-compare Bob Worral, co-comparing with Malcolm ‘Malkie’ Bow, as Canada’s unofficial anthem was started by piper Alec Rodgers playing at the back of the stalls before Bobby Watt’s strong voice, both solo and with band accompaniment, gave an emotional performance of the tale of Canadian history. Throw in a Swinging Simple times set featuring The Black Watch Polka and Caleb Thibedeau’s The Mohawk Totter, a set of 6/8 with two G.S. MacLennan’s tunes, the competition MSR and Medley and a cracking version of the now legendary The Journey to Skye and the night had been a joy from start to finish.
Special mention to the accompanying musicians, Duncan Nicolson, David Foley and Allan Henderson for their subtle and superbly integrated support for the band. The Dance Team from Ontario were fabulous throughout and their dance routines were simply a delight to watch as they expressed the tunes through their dancing.
This was a delightful night of pipe band music, not only was the music well thought out, but the band were also very well set up for the concert hall. Leading Drummer Kyle Wardell utilised seven snare drummers on the night, meaning the music shone through and the GRCH curse of the snares drowning out the pipes was completely avoided. Good as the music and the band were, and despite the number of gold medallists on the stage, the star of the night was undoubtedly dancer Tillie Goodman who, at the tender age of seven, performed brilliantly alongside the other dancers and completely stole the show. As I walked out of the concert hall, I felt that my faith in the future of the pipe band concert had been strengthened, and that, that is due to the 78th’s doesn’t seem at all surprising.
