Bagpipe News

BAGPIPE rockers The Red Hot Chilli Pipers are set to leave their day jobs after winning a prime-time TV talent contest.

The Glasgow band scooped £10,000 on Saturday night when they triumphed in an episode of BBC1 show When Will I Be Famous?

While the boys were on air, their website was flooded with 120 offers of work.

And band member Willie Armstrong hopes the show has given them the boost they need to make it as full-time musicians.

Willie, 42, a firefighter, said yesterday: “It’s our dream to go full-time and it’s what we’ve been working for.

“We’ve been offered a coastto- coast American tour with a hotel chain on the back of Saturday’s show.

“Now, we’re just going to see how it goes. We’ll have to take stock, weigh up all the offers and decide how the Chilli Pipers will go forward.”

The Chilli Pipers have been together five years and have played all over the world, but Saturday’s win could give them their big break.

Willie said it was “amazing” to take top prize in the variety show, hosted by Graham Norton. He added: “We enjoyed ourselves and I think that came across.

“We went back to the hotel, put £1000 of our prize behind the bar, and stayed up drinking until 3am with our families.”

PEORIA - It’s time for the Celtic Cross Pipes and Drums’ eighth annual Ceilidh, coming up from 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday in the Youth Building at Exposition Gardens, 1601 W. Northmoor Road.The Ceilidh - pronounced kay-lee - offers the chance to hear piping and drumming by the Celtic Cross band, whose members will travel to Scotland next year to take part in the World Pipe Band Championships.

Other bands performing at the event include St. Andrews Society from Springfield and Bloomsday, an area Celtic music band. Celtic dancing exhibitions will be part of the event, with performances by both the Celtic Cross Highland Dancers and Peggy Flynn’s Irish Dancers.

Full Article Click Here 

Congratulations to Bruce Gandy on winning the 2007 Metrocup

The Metro Cup was held on February 17th, 2007 at the Holiday Inn North in Newark, New Jersey. The Amateur Championship is now known as the Pipe Major George M. Bell Amateur Championship. R.G Hardie & Co. has donated a set of Peter Henderson pipes as the overall prize. The winner of the amateur MSR now know as the Tom Brancella Memorial MSR
Competitors for the Metro Cup were:

• Alasdair Gillies
• Duncan Bell
• Jeremy Freeman
• Brian Meagher
• James MacHattie
• Bruce Gandy
• Alex Gandy
• Alastair Dunn
• Margaret Dunn
• John Patrick
• Alan Tully
• Simon McKerrell
• Roddy MacLeod
• Gordon Walker
• Andrew Hayes

Bruce Gandy’s personal website can be found here

City of Dunedin have taken the Dunedin double at the recent Octagon day
and Otago Southland Championships.

The Royal Stewarts took the grade 3 titles on both days, with grade 4 being split between the Canterbury Caledonian
Balmorals on the Sunday, and the Matura Kilties winning the Saturday, Full
results OCTAGON DAY and SOUTHLAND/OTAGO champs
[pdf]
[pdf]

In a surprise move the RSPBA has thrown open disscussion on removing the
restrictions of the opening rolls and BPM restrictions as well as standing
formations for the medley events at the world pipe band championship,

More details can be found HERE

Steven McWhirter from SFU has taken out the world Solo drumming Championships held in Monkstown Norther Ireland,
Jim Kilpatrick took 2nd place with Eric Ward third.

NZ’s own Jeremy McLaughlin got 8th in his heat, the first time he has competed at this competiton, Full results can be found at:

Click Here

The Transcona & District Pipe Band is hosting a Bud - Spud - Steak fundraiser
at Canad Inns Transcona on Friday, March 23rd. Tickets are $15. For tickets
or more information, please contact Dave Stewart by phone at 224-0455 or
by email at d2reba@shaw.ca .

Grade 3 Qualifier Locations:

Southwest Branch:4/21/2007
Arkansas Scottish Festival
Mid-Atlantic Branch: 5/19/2007
Colonial Highland Gathering - Fair Hill, MD
Southern Branch: 6/9/2007
Greater Greenville Scottish Games & Highland Festival
Ohio Valley Branch: 6/23/2007
Ohio Scottish Festival
Metro Branch: 7/15/2007
Rockland County AOH Irish Feis
Northeast Branch: 7/21/2007
Glasgow Lands Scottish Festival Northampton, MA

Grades 2 and 3 Championships - 9/1-2/2007
Capital District Scottish Games — Altamont, NY
Regular contests on Saturday, championships on Sunday

Includes list (PDF File 27k) of those advancing to the finals on Saturday 03 March
Complete results and a summary of knockout points can be found on the Results
page

Celtic Alabama Calendar - Spring 2007

• February 9, 2007 - Irish Fiddler Natalie MacMaster - Alys Stephens Center
• in B’ham - Discount Tickets for Friends of ACA !
• March 13, 2007 - Henri’s Notions LIVE in Tennessee
• March 16, 2007 - Tune to 102.5 “The Bull” with Patty & Dollar Bill:  Kicking
• Off St. Pat’s with a LIVE Broadcast from Safari Cup
• March 17, 2007 - Birmingham’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Events

For More Events Click Here 

Celtic Alabama Calendar - Spring 2007

• February 9, 2007 - Irish Fiddler Natalie MacMaster - Alys Stephens Center
• in B’ham - Discount Tickets for Friends of ACA !
• March 13, 2007 - Henri’s Notions LIVE in Tennessee
• March 16, 2007 - Tune to 102.5 “The Bull” with Patty & Dollar Bill:  Kicking
• Off St. Pat’s with a LIVE Broadcast from Safari Cup
• March 17, 2007 - Birmingham’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Events

For More Events Click Here 

The St. Andrew’s Society of Winnipeg Pipe Bands will be hosting an evening
of Dining and Dancing at Assiniboia Downs on Saturday, March 24th. The event
will start with cocktails at 6:00 pm, followed by dinner at 7:00 pm. The
evening will feature live entertainment, a silent auction, and cash bar!

Tickets are just $25, and available from any member of the band. For more
information, please contact Jessica Locke.

For More Info Click Here 

The Mid-Atlantic Branch is halfway through its competition season with four
out of eight competitions being completed. The Virginia Scottish Games in
Alexandria has changed both its date and location. Events will remain the
same as last year. Visit the games Web site at  www.vascottishgames.com
for more details.

A TRIO of Scots hunks are poised to storm the music charts after becoming the world’s first bagpipe boy band.

Kyle Warren, Keith Bowes and Alasdair Henderson make up TNT and hope to send pulses racing with their twist on traditional Scottish music.

The band has made bagpiping cool with funky beats and sizzling dance moves and hope to attract a new generation of listeners - as well as female admirers.

They have bagged a deal with independent label Greentrax Recordings and have just started work on their debut album.
Full Article

1. The words were written by a reformed British slave trader turned Anglican minister, John Newton, who wrote it to accompany a New Year’s Day church service in 1773.
2. Amazing Grace is the most covered song in history. Over 3200 different recordings exist.
3. The tune we now associate with Amazing Grace wasn’t matched to the words until 1835 in William Walker’s Southern Harmony. Until then it was set to a variety of tunes.
4. The final stanza—‘When we’ve been there ten thousand years’—was added by Edwin Othello Excell in 1909 and was taken from another hymn.
5. Amazing Grace is considered to be the anthem of the Cherokee Nation because the song was sung on the Trail of Tears during 1838-39.
6. The first gospel recording of Amazing Grace was made in 1926 by Rev. H. R. Tomlin.
7. Most of the recordings of Amazing Grace have been made since Judy Collins had a surprise pop hit with the song in 1971.
8. A survey of British teenagers in the mid-1970s found that the majority thought that Amazing Grace was a love song about a girl named Grace.
9. The popular bagpipe version recorded by the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards was based on the hit version by Judy Collins and was only added to an album as an afterthought. Later released as a single, it became a huge international hit.
10. Amazing Grace was sung as the funerals of Richard Nixon, Sonny Bono, Barry Goldwater, Joe DiMaggio and John Kennedy Jr.

February 17, 2007
The Metro Cup Solo Invitational
Holiday Inn North, Newark New Jersey
8:00am Amateur Events, 1:00pm Open Events. Tickets $30.00
Contact: Eric M. Stein 631-241-5757 or stein_eric@emc.com

February 17, 2007
Sussex Cty St. Patrick’s Day Parade Grand Marshal’s Dinner
Lake Mohawk Country Club, Sparta, NJ,
6:00pm Cocktails, 7:00pm Dinner.Tickets: $65 per person
Contact: Dennis Harrington 973-827-9179 or dharring@ramapo.edu
More information: click here

February 19-23, 2007
NY Winter School by The National Piping Center
St Joseph’s School, 39 North Carll Avenue, Babylon NY 11702 & The Hibernian Hall, 27 Locust Avenue, Babylon, NY 11702
Piping instructors include Roddy MacLeod MBE, Alastair Dunn, Margaret Dunn, Dr. Simon McKerrell, & Bruce Gandy; Drumming instructors Graham Brown (snare) and Tyler Fry (tenor)
More information: www.thepipingcentre.co.uk

February 24, 2007
“You be the Judge Competition”
Brought to you by Saffron United Pipe Band
7:30 pm at the AOH Hall, 27 Locust Ave., Babylon, NY 11702
Tickets $20 include beer, wine, & soda
Competitors include: Roddy MacLeod, Alastair and Margaret Dunn, Gordon Walker, Simon McKerrell, the Australia Highlanders Duet, NYUPB, and many more
Contact: Eric M. Stein 631-241-5757 or stein_eric@emc.com

2007 presents two great reasons to celebrate!

It’s the 30th anniversary of the rebirth of the Capital District Scottish Games and the 90th anniversary of the Schenectady Pipe Band (our Scottish Games hosts)!

Grades 2 and 3 Championships - 9/1-2/2007

Capital District Scottish Games — Altamont, NY
Regular contests on Saturday, championships on Sunday
More Information | Flyer

Saturday’s Wellington Solo Piping Competition saw Stuart Easton continue
his recent form by taking the overall title at the annual Waitangi Weekend
competition, held at Scots College

Easton took out the MSR event on Friday night with George Mason second and
Jamie Hawke placing third. Easton then went on to win the New Zealand Championship
2/4 March. George Mason from Wellington was placed as runner up New Zealand
Champion Piper.
Full Results 

The Winnipeg Scottish Festival presents “Let’s Have a Ceilidh!” featuring
“Pop the Trunk”. The event takes place on Saturday, February 24th at
the Winnipeg Convention Centre. Doors open at 8:00 p.m. There is a cash
bar, and a light lunch will be served. Tickets are $12.