From daily performances in our Street Cafe to Pipe Bands in the heart of  the city on Glasgow’s Buchanan Street, we’ve provided hundreds of hours of free programming over the past sixteen years of Piping Live!

In order to continue to provide this amazing amount of free access to Scotland’s and the World’s best traditional music, we need your help. Every pound you donate will go towards keeping as much of our programming open and accessible for all, whatever your age, stage or interest.

We want to keep as much of Piping Live! as possible free for you. If you enjoy the festival, please contribute this festive season.

Gies a quid… Fling us a fiver… Tap us a tenner… or feeling even more Generous?!

Send BAGPIPES (chosen donation amount) to 70085
e.g. BAGPIPES 10 to 70085 to donate £10.
This is up to a maximum of £20.
UK mobiles only

From opening with The Silver Chanter for the first time, to closing with a stunning concert from Dougie MacLean and friends, we’ve had an absolute blast during Piping Live! 2019 and hope you have too! We’d like to say a massive thank you to everyone involved in making this year’s festival happen – artists, staff, volunteers, sponsors, traders and, most importantly, you, our incredible audience.

Support the Festival

From daily performances in our Street Cafe to livestreams that have been watched from around the world, a huge proportion of our festival programming is free for you to enjoy. In order to continue to provide this amazing amount of free access to Scotland’s and the World’s best traditional music, we need your help! Every pound you donate will go towards keeping as much of our programming open and accessible for all, whatever your age, stage or interest. If you’ve enjoyed any of this year’s free festival programming, please consider making a contribution to the festival’s future here.

Dates for your Diary

Piping Live! will return from Saturday 8th – Sunday 16th August 2020 – get the dates in your diary now and we’ll see you there!

The Gordon Duncan Memorial Piping Competition celebrates Gordon Duncan’s life and work, with three pipers from Scotland, Brittany and Ireland battling it out over three sets of Scottish, Irish and Breton tunes to be crowned champion piper 2019. Today’s competitors were Simon McKerrell (Scotland), Bradley Parker (Ireland) and Hervé le Floc’h (Brittany) and the judges were Alastair Dunn, Bob Worrall and Patrick Molard.

Winner of the Breton Round: Hervé le Floc’h
Winner of the Irish Round: Simon McKerrell
Winner of the Scottish Round: Bradley Parker

Overall Winner of the Gordon Duncan Memorial Piping Competition 2019: Bradley Parker

Thanks to the Gordon Duncan Memorial Trust for supporting this year’s competition.

Congratulations to Callum Beaumont, who won the Pipe Major Alasdair Gillies Memorial Recital Challenge last night! Also competing were Angus MacColl, Stuart Liddell and Finlay Johnston. The event took place at the Strathclyde Suite at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall and was hosted by John Wilson and sponsored by McCallum Bagpipes. Alasdair’s son Norrie Gillies was in attendance to present the prizes.

Congratulations Brodie Watson-Massey, who was crowned Pipe Idol 2019 following a fiercely contested final in the Strathclyde Suite of Glasgow Royal Concert Hall yesterday evening. He wins a set of Reelpipes, courtesy of event sponsor Fred Morrison Pipes. Also competing in the final were Luke Kennedy, Chris Happs and Finlay Frame.

Congratulations to Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band, who won the International Quartet Competition 2019 tonight!

Playing to a sold out audience in the Strathclyde Suite of Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, eight bands each played a Medley and MSR, with secret judges deciding the outcome.

Also competing were: Inveraray & District, Glasgow Police, People’s Ford Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia, 78th Fraser Highlanders, Canterbury Caledonia, Simon Fraser University and Shotts and Dykehead Caledonia. Thanks to RT Shepherd & Son for sponsoring last night’s competition.

Congratulations to Stuart Liddell of Inveraray, Scotland, who was named overall winner of the Masters Solo Piping Competition 2019 last night. His win earns him qualification for the Glenfiddich Piping Championship 2019, which takes place this October. Full results:

Piobaireachd

1st Stuart Liddell, The Unjust Incarceration
2nd Fred Morrison, Scarce of Fishing
3rd Callum Beaumont Donald Gruamach’s March
4th Roddy MacLeod, The Earl of Ross’s March

MSR 

1st Connor Sinclair, Major Manson at Clachantrushal, Arniston Castle, Broadford Bay
2nd Angus MacColl, The Lochaber Gathering, The Cameronian Rant, Pretty Marion
3rd Willie McCallum, Murdo MacLeod, Lady MacKenzie of Gairloch, The Man from Glengarry
4th Finlay Johnston, Inverlochy Castle, Maggie Cameron, Thompson’s Dirk

Overall Winner: Stuart Liddell

We are delighted to announce that we are once again livestreaming selected Piping Live! events, giving you the chance to enjoy the festival no matter where you are in the world!

On Monday 12th August, we will be livestreaming The Masters Solo Piping Competition, our premier piping competition, thanks to the support of R.G. Hardie & Co.  Tune in from 8.30am UK time to watch the Piobaireachd event, and approximately 5pm UK time for the March, Strathspey and Reel event, both featuring some of world’s top soloists.

We will also be livestreaming our Lunchtime Recital series, which celebrates musical duos this year. On Tuesday 13th August, Dr Angus and Allan MacDonald will perform in their own inimitable style; on Wednesday 14th August, one of Canada’s finest father and son duos, Jack and Andrew Lee perform in recital; and on Thursday 15th August, we present the fast fingered flair of Angus D and Angus J MacColl. All Lunchtime Recital broadcasts will start at 1pm UK time.

The event organisers request that bands who wish to practice in Glasgow’s parks are mindful of noise disturbance and disruption to local residents. Where bands wish to practice in a park, they should move to the centre and refrain from practicing around the periphery of parks where these are adjacent to residential areas (minimum recommendation 100m away from residential properties).

Practice in any public space in Glasgow should not take place before 9.00am in the morning and bands should conclude practice by 8.00pm in the evening. Bands should ensure that park management rules are adhered to at all times while in the parks. Please find details of parks and open spaces across the city as well as the park management rules here.

Piping Live! 2019 started last night with The Silver Chanter, the 53rd annual MacCrimmon Memorial Piobaireachd Competition. The competition was won by Jack Lee of British Columbia, Canada, who played Lament for the Earl of Antrim, It is the first time that Jack Lee has won the competition. He was presented with The Silver Chanter by Eva Bolander, Lord Provost of Glasgow, and Maggie Gordon of the William Grant Foundation.

The Silver Chanter displays the art of Ceòl Mòr, the great music of the Highland bagpipe, and celebrates the legacy of the MacCrimmon dynasty of pipers. Having taken place annually at Dunvegan Castle between 1967 and 2017, the event moved to Glasgow in 2018, and, this year, took place as part of Piping Live! Glasgow International Piping Festival for the first time.

Also competing were Callum Beaumont (Rory MacLoude’s Lament); Jamie Forrester (Lament for Patrick Òg MacCrimmon); Finlay Johnston (The King’s Taxes), Stuart Liddell (Lament for the Children) and 2018 winner, Iain Speirs (Lament for MacLeod of Colbecks). Jim McGillivray was the judge while Dr Roderick MacLeod was fear an tighe.

The competition has received support from William Grant and Sons since its inception and this support is continued through the William Grant Foundation.