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The RSPBA has set its 2027 band registration fees at the same rates as this year and warned that payment is due by 30 November to avoid a 20% surcharge. Separate rates apply for juveniles, new bands and overseas entrants.
Read the original ↗The 100% Collective of 28 female pipers and drummers marched through Quiberon, Brittany, on 25 October en route to the Festival Presqu’île Breizh. Drum-Major Emma Barr led the group at the front.
Read the original ↗Pipe Bands Australia has opened its 2026 Member Engagement Survey and is asking members and the wider pipe band community to help guide the association’s future direction.
Read the original ↗Kyle Wardell has left the 78th Fraser Highlanders after five months, while Mark Passmore and most of Ottawa Highlanders’ drum section have joined the band as part of a change in the Grade 1 drum corps.
Read the original ↗The Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association has appointed Meaghan Lyons as its new chief executive. The move is being welcomed in piping circles for her business background and experience across the pipe band world.
Read the original ↗The British Columbia Pipers’ Association spotlights the 100% Collective Pipe Band, an international all-women ensemble drawing attention across the piping world. The piece also connects the band’s story to BCPA members and the Pacific Northwest.
Read the original ↗Cullen Pipe Band in Co. Cork marked its 85th anniversary on 17 October 2026, with family, friends and the local community gathering to celebrate. The occasion also recognised Pipe Major Con Houlihan’s 50 years with the band.
Read the original ↗Pipe Bands Australia elected a new national leadership team at its annual general meeting on 18 October, with David Doyle of Tasmania chosen as president. Joel Solak of Tasmania was elected secretary.
Read the original ↗Eddie Gorman looks back on his first trip to North America with Muirhead & Sons for the Scottish Tattoo at the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto. He describes an event that featured leading Grade 1 bands from Scotland and Northern Ireland, along with local bands.
Read the original ↗The Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association has confirmed there will be no increase in band registration fees for the 2027 season. Registration has now opened for member bands.
Read the original ↗Major Sinclair Memorial have announced that Glenn Cupples will lead the band as Pipe Major for the 2027 season. P/M Nigel O’Neill is stepping down after five years in the role.
Read the original ↗The Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association has appointed Meaghan Lyons as its next chief executive officer. The announcement was released on 20 October 2026.
Read the original ↗The Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association has named Meaghan Lyons as its next chief executive officer, with Colin Mulhern due to hand over in March 2027. Lyons will begin a transitional post at the association’s Glasgow headquarters.
Read the original ↗The Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association has named Meaghan Lyons as its next chief executive officer. The appointment is the latest leadership move at the governing body.
Read the original ↗David Doyle has delivered his first address to Pipe Bands Australia members after being elected National President at the AGM on 18 October 2026.
Read the original ↗BBC Scotland and the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association have confirmed that the 2027 World Pipe Band Championships livestream is still undecided. A petition calling for the broadcast to be saved has gathered close to 3,000 signatures.
Read the original ↗Pipe Bands Australia has elected new national leadership following its Annual General Meeting on 18 October 2026. David Doyle is among those named in the announcement.
Read the original ↗The Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association has published its 2027 season band registration fees. The notice concerns the coming season and does not name any competitors or results.
Read the original ↗Stuart Liddell MBE is due to give an intimate evening recital at Moffat Distillery on 14 November. He is identified as Pipe Major of Inveraray and District Pipe Band.
Read the original ↗Douglas Murray has been appointed pipe major of the Grade 2 LA Scots and says he is honoured to follow Scott MacDonald. The interview looks ahead to the demands of the role for the Fife-based former pipe major of Fife Police and solo piping champion.
Read the original ↗LA Scots is changing pipe-majors, with Douglas Murray of Fife taking over from Scott MacDonald. MacDonald is stepping back after more than 35 years with the band.
Read the original ↗Fife-based Douglas Murray has been appointed Pipe Major of LA Scots. The band said Scott MacDonald has stepped down with immediate effect after serving as a key figure since its start in 1992.
Read the original ↗City of Angels took the top Grade 3 prize at the 2026 Seaside Highland Games in Ventura, while its new Grade 5 band made its debut over the two days of competition.
Read the original ↗The new Piping Wire brings together piping news, competition coverage and event listings in one free service. It is aimed at keeping players and followers up to date across the piping world.
Read the original ↗The Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association has walked back its earlier claim about BBC Scotland’s Worlds coverage. It now says the broadcaster has not made a final decision on the 2027 livestream.
Read the original ↗BBC Scotland says it has not decided whether to livestream the 2027 World Pipe Band Championships, while the RSPBA says the BBC has axed the coverage because of budget cuts. The dispute centres on the future of the Worlds broadcast.
Read the original ↗The Saskatchewan Pipe Band Association has scheduled online fall workshops for pipers and drummers, with judges Terry Lee and Duncan Millar leading the Zoom sessions. It also plans a November Mini Gathering as part of the off-season programme.
Read the original ↗The planned BBC retreat from World Pipe Band Championships coverage has prompted criticism and renewed debate about how the event is presented. The piece argues the current setup needs change, but says coverage should continue.
Read the original ↗The Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association says it is disappointed by the BBC's decision not to film the World Pipe Band Championships. The statement centres on the impact for one of piping's biggest events.
Read the original ↗BBC Scotland has re-confirmed that it has not decided on the World Pipe Band Championships broadcasts, including the free livestream. The timing matches previous years, when broadcast decisions came much closer to the event.
Read the original ↗Ulster Scottish pipe-major Eric Ouellette and lead-drummer Derek Cooper talk about reaching Grade 1 and the challenge of staying there. The conversation focuses on the band’s next steps at the top level.
Read the original ↗A second retrospective on Harry McNulty revisits his career as a piper, pipe major, adjudicator and bagpipe maker, drawing on a July 2002 Pipe Band Magazine feature.
Read the original ↗Ian K. MacDonald has left the Grade 1 78th Fraser Highlanders to rejoin the Grade 2 Toronto Police. Scott Russell remains pipe-major of the Fraser Highlanders.
Read the original ↗Piping Press has re-run a 2002 Pipe Band Magazine profile of Harry McNulty, who died three weeks ago aged 93. The piece revisits his long career as one of the circuit’s most experienced pipe band judges.
Read the original ↗The Ontario Youth Pipe Band and the PPBSO Ottawa Branch ran a Back 2 School Workshop on 26 September 2026, bringing young pipers and drummers together across Ontario. The gathering featured participants from 11 bands and organisations.
Read the original ↗The Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association has elevated Royal Burgh of Annan and Ulster Scottish to Grade 1, taking the number of active top-grade bands to 19. Ulster Scottish, based in Philadelphia, joins St. Thomas Alumni of Houston among the American Grade 1 ranks.
Read the original ↗Registration has opened for the 2027 Florida Pipe and Drum Academy, to be held at Marywood Retreat and Conference Center in St John’s, Florida, near Jacksonville. Chris McKeown is named as director, and the academy is described as an all-inclusive piping and drumming school with instructors from Scotland, the United States and Ireland.
Read the original ↗The Hundred Percent Collective, an all-women pipe band made up of Grade 1 players from around the world, is set to perform for the first time at Festival Presqu’île Breizh.
Read the original ↗Ulster Scottish and Royal Burgh of Annan move into Grade 1 for 2027. Piping Press also rounds up the junior piping and drumming results from Brechin.
Read the original ↗The RSPBA has confirmed the band regrading changes for the 2027 season after discussion at its Standards & Grading group. The notice sets out which bands move between grades for next year.
Read the original ↗The new 100% Collective will bring together 30 women from Grade 1 pipe bands and Celtic folk musicians from around the world for a performance. The project is framed around women’s place in pipe-band culture and the idea of playing together rather than only standing together.
Read the original ↗Thirty young pipers and drummers from across Scotland are preparing for the All-Girls Pipe Band’s first performance at the Scotland v Australia women’s international. The project is being presented by the Scottish Schools Pipes and Drums Trust.
Read the original ↗The writer looks back on an August trip to Scotland after travelling from Australia to play with Hawthorn Pipe Band at the World Pipe Band Championships. The account also mentions meeting Tim Gellaitry and taking in several piping-related visits.
Read the original ↗Thirty young female pipers and drummers will take part in the Scotland v Australia Women’s Rugby International at Scottish Gas Murrayfield on 26 September in Edinburgh. The performance is being led by Eilidh MacDonald as a pitch-side display for women in piping and drumming.
Read the original ↗The Pipers’ and Pipe Band Society of Ontario has named its 2026 Champion Supreme solo and band winners. The honours cover a wide spread of Ontario games, recitals and competitions.
Read the original ↗Nick Hudson has accepted the pipe-sergeant role with the Grade 1 St. Thomas Alumni Pipe Band of Houston, effective immediately. Mike Cusack has retired after holding the position since 2014.
Read the original ↗A guest opinion in pipes|drums makes the case for better teaching and support for bass drummers, arguing that respect and encouragement are essential to recruiting and retaining players.
Read the original ↗Piping Press reports the death of Pipe Major Harry McNulty on 8 September 2026, aged 93. Born in April 1933 and from Leith, Edinburgh, he served as Pipe Major of the Grade 1 Lothian & Borders Police, British Caledonian Airways, and Power of Scotland bands. The item is an obituary.
Read the original ↗pipes|drums published a piece about 42 piping and drumming students from Sydney’s Scots College and their performance in Shanghai.
Read the original ↗James Laughlin addresses recruitment in the second instalment of his pipe-band leadership series for pipes|drums. The full article requires a subscription.
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