No change for Dollar as pipe band contest returns May 26th

The first Dollar Pipe Band & Drum-Majors Competition held in 2023 was UK piping and drumming scene’s success stories, and the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association’s Dundee, Perth & Angus Branch has announced that the event will return in 2024 on May 26th.

In a relatively unusual move, the branch collaborated with Dollar Academy to launch the event last year, and the competition proved to be a popular choice with bands based in Scotland.

More than 40 bands entered the early-season contest last year, including five in Grade 1 alone. Johnstone and ScottishPower were the only bands based in Scotland not to attend. Inveraray & District was the Grade 1 winner in 2023.

Dollar Academy has one of Scotland’s most successful piping and drumming programs. The private school’s bands have won numerous World Championship titles, including the Juvenile band, which won the 2023 competition.

The branch stressed that entries close on May 10th.

“We want to again thank the community of Dollar, and the school for their continued support, and let’s hope that this year’s turn’s out better than the last,” the Dundee, Perth & Angus Branch said in a statement.

The 2024 UK outdoor pipe band competition season begins in Scotland at Banchory and Gourock on May 12th, with the UK Championships on May 18th in Bangor, Northern Ireland.