Change of Venue for Piobaireachd Society Conference Following Hotel Fire

The Piobaireachd Society’s Annual Conference has been switched to a new venue following a fire at a hotel in Perth. A blaze in the kitchen has forced the temporary closure of the Royal George Hotel, the home for the conference for the past four years. The new venue for 2026 is the Golden Lion Hotel in Stirling. All arrangements, meals, rooms etc. are as per the Royal George. The conference…

Archie Kenneth Quaich Results & Report

The winner of the 42nd Archie Kenneth Quaich competition was Andrew Robertson from Edinburgh playing the Lament for Donald of Laggan. Andrew is pictured above with the winners’ trophy and banner. The competition is for amateur piobaireachd and is run by the Piobaireachd Society. It was held last Saturday, February 28, in the Royal Scottish Pipers’ Society Rooms in Edinburgh. It attracted an entry of 25. Other prizes: 2 Tom Peterkin (Lament…

Successful Jimmy McIntosh Piobaireachd Workshop

The 4th Jimmy McIntosh MBE Piobaireachd Workshop was held at Carnegie Mellon University last weekend. We had 42 students, including 17 at open level, which we were delighted with, especially because it was solely a piobaireachd event… and held in a very cold Pittsburgh.  The weekend was organised by the Pittsburgh Piping Society. Instructors were all longtime students of Jimmy’s, Northern Meeting Clasp winners Mike Cusack and Nick Hudson (both travelling…

Piping Centre Juniors/ Ardmore Cup Results

There was a large entry for the NPC Junior Competition 2026 held last Saturday at Otago Street and MacPhater Street in Glasgow. U18 Piob: 1 Charlie Mack 2 William Muirhead 3 Kai Hay 4 Rory Menzies 5 Harris Morford 6 Lachlan Rennie; U18 MSR: 1 Arthur MacKay 2 Lachlan Rennie 3 Kai Hay 4 Charlie Mack 5 James Silcock 6 Harris Morford; U18 Jig: 1 Charlie Mack 2 Kai Hay 3 Lachlan Rennie 4 Rory Cairns 5 Harris Morford 6 Hamish…

Rose & Thistle Ladies Pipe Band

Inspired in part by the video ‘Don’t Look Back, I’m Right Behind You’, a new US ladies band is preparing for a trip to Scotland to play at the Worlds and to raise money for an important cause. Andrea Jones reports…. The Rose & Thistle Ladies Pipe Band was formed in 2025 with the goal of putting together a band to play at events and raise money for cancer research….