Meghan Trainor wrote a great song called “All About That Bass.” In the pipe band world, however, the bass drum is more like the movie Highlander: there can be only one, or sometimes two, if you’re ...

After the thousands of entries were assessed, Shawn Tobin of Nepean, Ontario, was the ONLY one to get the top six Grade 1 at ...

Inverness, Scotland – September 4, 2026 – Callum Beaumont of Guardbridge, Scotland, won the 2026 Clasp, the most prestigious non-invitational award in the solo piping world. It was his sixth win (2012 ...

Inverness is set for two packed days of top-flight solo piping as the 2026 Northern Meeting brings the world’s leading players together for the most prestigious non-invitational gathering on the ...

pipes|drums’ intrepid photographer Alister Sinclair was on the prowl on the second day of the Argyllshire Gathering through the town of Oban and at Mossfield Park, the traditional venue for the ...

Glasgow – August 12, 2026 – The third and final CLASP (Competition League for Amateur Solo Pipers) at the 2026 Piping Live! Festival was for Grade 1, and Olivia Corcoran of Gaithersburg, Maryland, won ...

We’re asking one important question each day of Piping Live! 2026. Here are responses from Tuesday, August 11th, on whether it’s time for the Grade 1 and Grade 2 MSR events to be replaced with ...

Our intrepid man with the camera, Alister Sinclair, is once again prowling Piping Live! 2026, Nikon at the ready, Nikkor lenses in abundance, looking for the moments that others might miss. Throughout ...

As a service to the many pipe band enthusiasts making their way to Glasgow for Piping Live! and the World Pipe Band Championships, we’re pleased to publish the 2026 edition of the pipes|drums Guide to ...

Chatsworth, England – August 6, 2026 – Winning three firsts and two seconds in the five events, Stuart Liddell of Inveraray, Scotland, gained the Chatsworth Champion Piper trophy at the annual ...

Dundonald, Scotland – August 1, 2026 – Winning both light music events, Gordon McCready of Renfrew, Scotland, was the overall champion at the annual Dundonald Games near Kilmarnock. The weather was ...

Perth, Scotland – June 27, 2026 – Field Marshal Montgomery of Northern Ireland won the 2026 European Pipe Band Championship against a field of seven other bands, with Northern Ireland’s Ravara not ...