And it’s all over for another year! A massive thank you everyone involved in making Piping Live! 2017 happen – artists, staff, volunteers, sponsors, traders and, most importantly, YOU, our amazing audience!

Congratulations to everyone who took part in the World Pipe Band Championships on Friday and Saturday, and to Grade 1 World Pipe Band Champions 2017: Inveraray & District Pipe Band!

Sylvain Hamon, Scott Wallace and Connor Sinclair participated in a fantastic afternoon of piping yesterday. Congratulations to Connor Sinclair, who became 2017 champion after winning the Irish and Scottish rounds , with Sylvain Hamon winning the Breton round. With thanks to Gordon Duncan Memorial Trust & McCallum Bagpipes.

Let us know what you thought of this year’s festival by joining us on social media! You can also share your pictures with us by using the hashtags #PipingLive and#MomentsThatMatter – we’d love to see them!

We hope to see you all again in 2018 to celebrate even more #MomentsThatMatter

The competitions have come in thick and fast this week, with the RT Shepherd & Son International Quartet Competition won by Inveraray and District Pipe Band, Pipe Idol was won by Robbie MacIsaac – who won a set of Fred Morrison Reel Pipes and then the P/M Alasdair Gillies Memorial Recital Challenge, sponsored by McCallum Bagpipes, was won by Stuart Liddell to a sell-out crowd at the Strathclyde Suite of Glasgow Royal Concert Hall.

Now onto the worlds….

Congratulations to Jack Lee from Canada who won the Overall title at the Masters Solo Piping Championship last night.

The prizelist was:

Piobaireachd
1. Jack Lee
2. Glenn Brown
3. Niall Stewart
4. Roddy MacLeod

March, Strathspey and Reel
1. Angus MacColl
2. Craig Sutherland
3. Niall Stewart
4. Roddy MacLeod

Congratulations again to Jack, who qualifies for this year’s Glenfiddich Solo Piping Championship on Saturday 28th October in Blair Castle. Find out more and get tickets for the Glenfiddich online now!

We are delighted to announce that we are once again livestreaming the Masters Solo Piping Championships on Monday 7th August. This livestream is sponsored by R.G Hardie & Co. So tune in from 9am UK time, to watch the world’s top soloist compete in Piobaireachd and then around 5.30pm UK time (on conclusion of the Piobaireachd) for the March, Strathspey and Reel.

And if that wasn’t enough, you can also tune in at 1pm on Tuesday for the Lunchtime Recital by Callum Beaumont, 1pm on Wednesday for Jack Lee and then 2pm on Thursday for Willie McCallum’s recital. These 1 hour recitals are sponsored by McCallum Bagpipes.

Find out more

Our #PopUpPiper surprised young patients and staff at the Royal Hospital for Children with a visit this week, to help celebrate the inspiring work of everyone at Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity! Here’s a wee look at what happened…

Our #PopUpPiper returns to twitter next week, so if you have a special event or need a shout out, tweet us at @GlasgowPiping and make your request!

If you still want to sign up to the Piping Live! Big Band, there are still a few spaces left – head over to the page now and find out more.

This year, we are offering to tart-an up your beards at this year’s event with the introduction of the world’s first Bonnie Beard Booth! The Bonnie Beard Booth will open at George Square 12noon- 3pm on Thursday 10th August at Glasgow’s George Square. Ladies, don’t feel left out, this can be done on your fringe or long hair too.

We want you to grow your facial fuzz to take full advantage of the booth when it pops up in George Square. The booth will be run by beard experts, Braw Beard Oils who will allow bearded gents to choose from a variety of tartans and styles, making it the ultimate accessory for all Piping Live! events.

Roddy MacLeod, Festival Director of Piping Live! said: “Bagpipes and tartan are two important symbols of Scottish heritage and culture that continue to evolve through the talents of emerging musicians and designers and we’ve celebrated both at Piping Live! for fourteen years now. We’re delighted to add the Bonnie Beard booth to this year’s festival, where bearded pipers and kilties can take their image to the next level! There’s just four weeks to go until thousands of visitors and musicians arrive from all over the world for this year’s event – so now’s the time to ditch the razors and let’s fill the city with tartan beards!”

Beard care expert and Braw Beard Oil founder, John Jackson said: “Men around the world are embracing their facial hair – there’s been plenty of variations from glitter beards to bauble beards – and this is another great example of how you can have some fun with it. For one day only, we’re going to blow piping fans and grooming enthusiasts away with some truly special facial patterns.”

Keep Piping Live! And Braw Beard Oil updated with your beard growth progress on Twitter using #bonniebeard. All appointments are free and first come, first served, so get there quick!

We are delighted to be hosting the launch of Bill Livingstone’s memoirs here at Piping Live!, in the National Piping Centre Auditorium on Thursday 10th August from 4.30pm. The event will be hosted by Stuart Liddell and is sponsored by McCallum Bagpipes.

Entitled Preposterous: Tales to Follow, the 276-page work covers over seven decades of Bill’s life, ranging from his childhood in the tough mining town of Copper Cliff in northern Ontario, Canada, to some of his most high-profile solo and pipe band ventures around the world.

“This book has been in the works for several years now,” said Bill. “Writing it has been a roller-coaster ride of emotions as I have not held back on putting my memories, my views and my feelings out there for everyone to see. Seeing it finished is simultaneously elating and terrifying.”

Preposterous: Tales to Follow is available for pre-order now from The Bagpipe Shop.co.uk until Friday 21st July. Check out the details of the launch event in Glasgow here

The 2017 Piping Live! Merchandise is now available to pre-order at The Bagpipe Shop!

We have a fantastic range with t-shirts, zipped hoodies and caps all available now. So get your’s first as pre-orders will be posted out as soon as they arrive!

Find out more and order now! 

Take a look to the right….

The Piping Live! Programme is now available as a PDF download.

Take a peek now and plan your week!

Join us again in 2017 as we make the Piping Live! Big Band even bigger and better! 

We want to celebrate Piping Live! with a massed band of all the pipers and drummers that are here in Glasgow that will also support a fantastic charity – Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity (formerly Yorkhill).

The parade will take place on Monday 7th August. Whether you are in a band of not, come and join the Piping Live! big band, for your chance to take part in the festival. Joining the band will be top pipers and drummers from across the globe, and you could be part of it too!

Through this scheme we are supporting Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity. The Glasgow International Piping Festival has been supported by the people of this great city for so many years that this year, we wanted to give back to the city, through one of its most well-loved charities.

So we are looking for pipers – chanters too – drummers and drum majors to join us. So register today to be part of something special at Piping Live! 2017.

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