Latest news

Chris Lee competing at the 2018 Atholl Gathering.

New RSPBA sub group / Online Atholl Gathering / Up To The Line podcast

The Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association (RSPBA) has set up a new cross-association working group. The group, the International Liaison Group, is a sub group of the organisation’s Music Board and has been established in order to help improve communication between the member associations around the world and to provide […]

Piping’s thanks to Lady Dorothea Stewart Murray

Piping’s thanks to Lady Dorothea Stewart Murray

Today is International Women’s Day (IWD), a global day celebrating the “social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.” Marked annually on, this date, IWD is one of the most important days of the year to, among other things, celebrate women’s achievements and to raise awareness about women’s equality. In piping, […]

Practice chanter reeds: cane v plastic

Practice chanter reeds: cane v plastic

Those of us old enough to have played cane practice chanter reeds will testify to the superiority of them over plastic reeds. Yet, by the late 1970s, plastic was rapidly becoming the preference for pipers and it seems that these days it is extremely difficult to source cane reeds. In […]

RSPBANI set to cancel most of band season

RSPBANI set to cancel most of band season

The Northern Ireland branch of the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association (RSPBA) says it is considering cancelling all its pipe band competitions until the end of July. Although covering most of the competition season, this would affect only four competitions including the All-Ireland Championships on July 3. The RSPBANI committee […]

Reflections on the Northern Meeting, 1962

Reflections on the Northern Meeting, 1962

By Seumas MacNeill Most gatherings have an atmosphere all of their own, and none more so than Inverness. Last of the season’s contests, equal in stature with Oban, it is the final fling for pipers and enthusiasts before the winter. The Northern Meeting ballroom with its warmth, splendid acoustics, and […]

CLASP profile: Dugald Macleod

CLASP profile: Dugald Macleod

The latest member of the Competition League for Amateur Solo Pipers (CLASP) to be profiled is Dugald Macleod. Where are you from and how did you get into piping?I live near Dumfries, Scotland but always have difficulty with the question, “Where are you from?” I was born in Valparaiso, Chile […]

Pipe Major Evan Macrae book / Skye Gathering

Pipe Major Evan Macrae book / Skye Gathering

The memoirs of the late Pipe Major Evan Macrae BEM have been published this week. Over the Chindwin to Lochaber: A Scottish Piper’s Memoir has been produced by Evan’s son, Duncan who lives in Lancashire, England. Bagpipe.News has read the first few chapters and can inform readers that it is […]

Glasgow Police competing at the 2019 European Pipe Band Championships held at Bught Park.

Europeans cancelled; plus more games fall

Unsurprisingly, the European Pipe Band Championships has been cancelled for 2021. The news comes two days after the announcement that the British and the UK Championships were cancelled. The ‘Europeans’ were scheduled to take place on Saturday, June 21 at Bught Park, Inverness, but with uncertainty around COVID-19 restrictions and […]