Archive
“If an adjudicator gives a prize to a drum corps that is flying off at a tangent and producing all kinds of riproaring feats of percussional dexterity, and the pipe corps just happens to be there, well, they shouldn’t be getting the drumming prize.”
We mourn the pipers, drummers and enthusiasts who sadly left us in 2024, leaders of and contributors to the art and the piping and drumming community who passed away last year: George “Geordie” Lumsden, 1926-2024 John Hughes, 1956-2024 Neil Sloan, 1970-2024 Ian Green, 1934-2024 Ken […]
For more than 60 years of service to piping and drumming and community in Northern Ireland, Robert Kirkland, pipe-major of William Kerr Memorial of Co. Tyrone, was awarded the British Empire Medal in the King’s New Year’s Honours, coming only a few months after he was recognized by the Northern […]
What a year 2024 was! So many accomplishments and milestones, products and services, leaders and events. In 2001 we began our odyssey, putting together a panel of experts from around the world to vote on the best of the best. Each panellist brought their knowledge and non-bias to the table, […]
The annual Waipu Highland Games was held on New Year’s Eve instead of the traditional New Year’s Day in mixed conditions were mixed: torrential downpours interrupting a largely sunny, warm day. Thirteen competed in the A Grade events, and Liam Kernaghan won the overall trophy. Sam Foote from Christchurch was the aggregate B Grade champion.
Chris Armstrong was awarded the British Empire Medal in the 2024 King’s New Year’s Honours for his lifetime of service to piping. Armstrong is perhaps best known worldwide as pipe-major of Grade 1 ScottishPower, consistently one of the world’s elite bands since he took it on in 2005. “I consider […]
On a Medley preference, Stuart Easton of Palmerston North, New Zealand, won the overall and $500NZD after a tie with Liam Kernaghan, Wellington, at the annual Northcote Invitational Solo Piping Competition at the Northcote Tavern on the North Shore of Auckland. As is tradition, the previous year’s winner, Piers Dover, judged both events. The competition is sponsored by the Auckland & District Pipe Band.
We look back at the creative articles that caught most of your attention in 2024
We count down the news of 2024 that garnered the most attention.
The greatest Canadian competitive piper in history lists everything in his pipe case.
To all our readers worldwide, we wish you a Merry Christmas and the happiest of holidays! It was another eventful year, and we enjoyed bringing you the hundreds of news, reviews, interviews, views, videos, and feature stories that have populated these pages over the last 12 months. We hope to […]
A look at both the Endurance and Kintyre practice chanters as a comparative video preview rather than a competitive assessment.
April 5, 2025, will be the date of the second annual Oceania Adult Solo Drumming Championship, the competition returning to Christchurch as part of the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association’s Champion of Champions league for the world’s best pipe band drummers. The inaugural 2024 Oceania Championship saw only the top […]
Jack Lee, the greatest competitive piper in Canadian history, was awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal in a ceremony on December 21, 2024, for services to piping and the community after he was nominated by the Surrey, British Columbia, Police Service. Member of Parliament Ken Hardie, who represents Surrey […]
Piping and drumming, like life in general, can get the best and worst of us. Too often, we rush to get things done, to push quickly to achieve objectives that, in the grand scheme of things, don’t much matter. I’m not religious, but I respect those who look to religion […]
The Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association has scheduled July 12th for the 2025 United Kingdom Pipe Band Championships in Ingliston and the west side of the Edinburgh area in “collaboration” with the Royal Highland Centre. For the first time since 2014, the competition will not be held in Northern Ireland. […]