The countdown to this year’s festival is officially underway after The National Piping Centre hosted the Piping Live! Pre-Festival Party on Wednesday night! The concert was recorded for Pipeline on BBC Radio Scotland, so be sure to tune in on Saturday night from 9.05pm if you couldn’t join us in person. Gary West chatted to Roddy MacLeod about this year’s festival highlights, and there were performances from Ross Ainslie & Steven Byrnes, Glasgow Police Pipe Band (pictured) and Cameron Drummond, so it’s sure to be a great show!

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The Piping Live! Lunchtime Recital series returns to The National Piping Centre for 2018 with another fantastic line up: Bruce Gandy, Willie McCallum and Ian K MacDonald.

Bruce Gandy
Tuesday 14th August (1pm)
Bruce Gandy, from Halifax, Nova Scotia has won many of the top prizes in solo piping and pipe bands, including the World Pipe Band Championships with the 78th Fraser Highlanders.
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Willie McCallum
Wednesday 15th August (1pm)
One of the all time greats of solo piping, Willie McCallum is a record-holding 8-time Glenfiddich Champion.
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Ian K MacDonald
Thursday 16th August (1pm)
The double Gold Medal winning Ian K MacDonald from Toronto. He achieved the “The Double” in 2016 winning both the Argyllshire Gathering and Northern Meeting Gold Medals in the same year.
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Join us at The National Piping Centre to hear a wonderful hour of recital from some of the world’s best players. Tickets for each Lunchtime Recital are priced at £7.50 (£6 concessions) plus booking fee and are available to purchase now from TicketWeb.

Piping Live’s After Worlds Shindig will see two of Scotland’s most exciting trad acts, Hamish Napier and Assynt, take to the stage at The National Piping Centre to share new music in a special late night concert.

Originally from Strathspey in the Scottish Highlands, Hamish Napier has been an integral part of Glasgow’s vibrant folk music scene for over a decade. He’ll share tunes from his new album The Railway (2018).

Assynt are a new folk trio featuring David Shedden (pipes/whistles), Graham Mackenzie (fiddle) and Innes White (guitar/mandolin). 2018 sees the release of their debut album Road to the North.

The perfect way to round off a day on Glasgow Green for the World Pipe Band Championships – join us!

Date: Saturday 18th August 2018
Doors: 9.30pm
Venue: The National Piping Centre

Tickets on sale now

The Piping Live! Big Band is BACK for 2018!

Now in it’s third year, we want the biggest band yet, to help us support a very important charity – the Scottish Association of Mental Health – or SAMH. Music and playing an instrument can improve mental health and being part of a group like a pipe band can give opportunities to talk and connect with people. So we are delighted to be supporting SAMH to promote good mental health, and awareness of Mental Health problems, with our Big Band fundraising this year.

So we want YOU to be part of this year’s Big Band. Its for all ages of player, all stages of piping, drumming and drum majoring!

Find out more 

Picture Copyright: Chris Watt www.chriswatt.com

Piping Live! will be presenting a fantastic pre-festival party to get you in the spirit of the Summer! Join us at The National Piping Centre from 7.30pm on Wednesday 13th June and hear a flavour of this year’s festival including Glasgow Police Pipe Band, Ross Ainslie and Steve Byrne and more. This event is being recorded by BBC Pipeline programme for broadcast at a subsequent date. 

Tickets are only £5 (+ BF) but are limited so get yours now!

This event is Over 18s only.

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Piping Live! rolls out the tartan carpet to welcome fans from around the world. The world’s biggest week of piping is set to host 40,000 fans in Glasgow this summer. 

Picture Copyright: Chris Watt www.chriswatt.com

A bespoke tartan carpet transformed Glasgow’s Buchanan Street today, Wednesday 16^th May, to unveil the headliners of this year’s Piping Live! Glasgow International Piping Festival and The World Pipe Band Championships, which both return to the city 13 – 19 August 2019.

Now in its 15^th year, Piping Live! is the biggest festival of its kind – each year attracting over 40,000 music fans, families and tourists from around the globe to watch more than 5,000 pipers perform at 150 events across the city.

Some of the hottest names in traditional music are set to perform, including Finlay MacDonald, Anxo Lorenzo and Ross Ainslie. Also joining the bill will be thrilling folk five-piece, Breabach, who are fresh from an Australian and UK tour and are set perform a blistering set at the BBC’s Biggest Weekend.

The programme will feature performances by the very best international acts, from countries including New Zealand, Brazil, Canada and Scotland and will also see the return of the fiercely contested Master Solo, International Quartet and Pipe Idol competitions. In addition, there will be daily performances, family fun and the hugely popular Street Café will return to The National Piping Centre for the week.

The World Pipe Band Championships are the pinnacle of competitive Pipe Band competition and are organised on behalf of the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association by the City of Glasgow. The current World Champions are Inveraray and District Pipe Band.

The first ever World Pipe Band Championships were held in Edinburgh in 1947. The event was first held in Glasgow in 1948 and has been staged in the city continuously since 1986. So far over 140 bands have already declared they will take part with entries remaining open until 4 July.

Tickets for the World Pipe Band Championships, which are being held at Glasgow Green on 17 and 18 August, are on sale now.

Roddy MacLeod, Festival Director of Piping Live! said: “For the last 15 years we have celebrated the diverse sound of pipes by bringing the very best musicians from across the world to Glasgow. We’re thrilled that the festival has continued to grow and gain momentum year in, year out – something we’re keen to build on for 2018.

“There really is something for everyone at Piping Live! – we have a week packed with incredible performances and family fun, which is why we’re inviting everyone to enjoy the electric atmosphere of the festival first-hand.  See you there!”

Finlay MacDonald, performing at this year’s Piping Live!, said: “There is a real passion for folk music in Scotland and there’s no better place to perform than on home soil at the biggest celebration of piping in the world.”

Piping Live! and The World Pipe Band Championships are supported by EventScotland, part of VisitScotland’s Events Directorate.

Paul Bush OBE, Director of Events at VisitScotland, said: “Piping Live! is a fantastic week-long celebration of one of Scotland’s most iconic instruments and sounds. The festival continues to go from strength to strength and this year is no different with another stellar line-up of international and home-grown acts guaranteed to entertain audiences all week long.

“Scotland is the perfect stage for piping events and festivals and EventScotland is delighted to be continuing its support of Piping Live! in 2018.”

For your chance of an exclusive taster of this year’s Piping Live!, join us at the live recording for BBC Pipeline show on Wednesday 13^th June at the National Piping Centre. The piping hot line-up includes Ross Ainslie, Steven Byrnes and Glasgow Police Pipe Band, tickets are on sale now via www.pipinglive.co.uk

Tickets for Piping Live! are on sale now via www.pipinglive.co.uk

We will be returning slightly later than usual this year.

Piping Live! will take place from Monday 13th – Sunday 19th August 2018.

The World Pipe Band Championships will be on Friday 17th and Saturday 18th August 2018.

Applications are now being taken for Pipe Idol 2018. If you will be aged 21 + Under and would like to take part, please complete this survey.

If your pipe band are coming to Glasgow and would like to take part in our Street Performances, please email marketing@thepipingcentre.co.uk for more information.

We can’t wait to see you all in 2018!