Big Names at Final NI contest of Season and Ulster Pipe Band Championship Report

The next and final RSPBANI Branch competition of the season will take place on Saturday August 6th at the Donard Park, Newcastle, County Down. There is an entry of thirty seven bands including Field Marshal Montgomery and St Laurence O’Toole in Grade 1 and thirty three drum majors. This event will also see the culmination of the seasons Champion of Champions competition and a large crowd is expected to attend, particularly for…

Tribute Band to Mark Shotts & Dykehead’s Worlds Winning Medley in 1970

In a little over three weeks I hope to play at the World Pipe Band Championships for the first time in 44 years. I have been asked to be part of a ’70s Tribute Pipe Band’ formed to celebrate the introduction of the pipe band Medley in 1970 and honour the bands that pioneered the format. By the Editor The Tribute band was due to play in 2020 on the…

Antigonish Highland Games Results

The 157th Antigonish Highland Games were held on Saturday, July 9 and Sunday, July 10 under warm and sunny conditions.  A large crowd attended both days following a two-year hiatus. There was tremendous enthusiasm. All the participants were so happy. It was actually hard to believe that we had missed two years. Nine pipe bands competed for the Nova Scotia Pipe Band Championships on Saturday and for the Atlantic Canada Pipe Band…

Editor’s Notebook: Worlds Grade 1/ Worlds Tickets/ RSPBA Jubilee/ Duncan’s Forgotten Piobaireachd/ Brisbane Beers

So it is a fact that this year’s World G1 title will be decided over four competitions involving a total of 16 judges. No one will be able to gainsay the winner after that. However I do not feel it necessary to go to such lengths. Eight judges stout and true can do the job perfectly well as they have shown in the past. Sixteen should not become the norm….

New John MacLellan, Dunoon, Playlist, Northern Meeting Tickets/ Glenfiddich Tickets/ Balmoral Concert

The promoters of the John MacLellan, Dunoon, tribute website: We are once again approaching two important dates in Jock’s life, his passing on July 31, 1949, and his birth on August 8, 1875 To commemorate these dates a special playlist has been created on Spotify. Its title, ‘Bonnie Dunoon, My Home Town’, comes from two of Jock’s popular tunes. It features various artists, pipe bands and groups perfoming Jock’s tunes…