The 20 most-read pipes|drums news stories of 2018

Dowco Triumph Street “ceases competitive operations”

It was a bolt from the blue when Pipe-Major David Hilder informed pipes|drums first that not only was he leaving the Grade 1 Dowco Triumph Street, but the band would fold altogether. The demise of Triumph Street leaves the British Columbia circuit with only one Grade 1 band, albeit a mighty one, with Simon Fraser University. In an attempt to do well at the World’s, and perhaps imply to keep things going, Hilder had embarked on a radical new approach, with a drum section essentially based entirely in the UK, along with a significant portion of its pipe section. Whether Triumph Street was still considered a “Canadian” band was debated by some, and the idea of a semi-virtual pipe band became a reality of the modern age. The world watched to gauge Triumph Street’s success. The band’s ultimate demise perhaps was a cautionary tale for groups willing to do almost anything to succeed on Glasgow Green.