The Piping Live! Big Band will return for its 8th showcase at this year’s festival. Pipers of all ages and abilities are invited to take part. In 2025, the Big Band will parade from Mansefield Park in Partick to the concourse at the iconic Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. It will step off on this 0.5mile route at 12noon, arriving at the museum around 12.20pm.

The Piping Live! Big Band is a mass participation event that opens our festival. 200 pipers will gather, ranging from young learners playing their chanters, to seasoned professionals playing the pipes in their retirement.

The Big Band will walk the streets of Glasgow performing a repertoire of tunes that everyone can play. The Piping Live! Big Band is open to anyone who plays a practice chanter, bagpipes, snare, bass or tenor drum, or is a drum major! All ages are welcome. Past events welcomed musicians aged 8-86.

This year, the event is supporting Scotland-based charity the Eilidh MacLeod Memorial Trust, which was established in honour of the talented piper, Eilidh MacLeod, who died at age 14 in May of 2017 from the Manchester Arena Attack after the Ariana Grande concert. The trust aims to bring children and young people into the piping and musical communities by supporting their musical education in all genres and disciplines. The Eilidh MacLeod Memorial Trust has supported thousands of young musicians, offering them the opportunity to discover and share the same deep love of music that Eilidh MacLeod cherished. 

REGISTRATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED. Thank you to everyone who has registered to take part, we have reached out capacity! 

Big Band Stewards
To help make sure the Piping Live! Big Band all happens without a hitch, we are looking for stewards to help marshall at the parade. You dont need any prior expereince, and will be given a hi-vis vest and on the day instructions. You will march with the parade, making sure our participants stay safe while playing.
 
If you would like to be a Big Band Steward, please email contact@pipinglive.co.uk

The Venue

The centre serves as a national and international centre of excellence for the great Highland Bagpipe and its music.

The Festival Site with the Centre Stage and Bothy Tent, as well as our food and drink tents will be on outside here on McPhater Street.

PLEASE BE AWARE

• You will need a Festival Site Day ticket (or Festival Week Pass) to access the events from the 11th -15th of August 
  If you arrive at the Festival Site without a valid day/week entry ticket you will be required to buy one at the door.

• Your Festival Site Day Ticket provides entrance to the festival site where we will have two stages of world class artists running alongside other attractions.
• Once you have completed the purchase of your Festival Day Site Ticket and paid for it, you can access tickets for additional events. 
• These additional events include the RG Hardie & Co Solo Piping Masters Competition; the Gordon Duncan Memorial Piping Competition; the Pipe Idol Grand Final; the Lunchtime Recitals and Learn@Live.
• You cannot attend these events if you have not purchased a Festival Day Site Ticket
• It's the same if you have bought a Festival Week Pass. If you wish to attend any of the additional events, you can buy tickets using the link on the purchase confirmation email for the Festival Week Pass. 

• The confirmation page and email for your Festival Day Site Ticket purchase contains a link to the page for tickets for the additional events. 
• You don’t have to buy all your tickets at once - you can buy your tickets for these additional events later on using the link in the confirmation email you received when you bought your Festival Day Site Ticket . 

• For evening ticketed events at the National Piping Centre, Strathclyde Suite at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall and at St Luke’s you will not need to buy a Festival Day Site Ticket. 
• You do not need a festival site pass for events on the 8th, 9th and 10th of August (eg. MacGregors Gathering events)

Accessibility

The National Piping Centre and Pipers' Tryst restaurant has step access at both doors.
There is a lift available from the side of the building to all floors.
During Piping Live! access is through the ramped entracne to the Street Cafe, cross the marquee and then out the other door to the lift area. There is also an accessible toilet here.
You can book a welcome through the WelcoME platform here
You can see full access information at Euan's Guide here