Piping Live!

30,000 traditional music fans and almost 8,000 pipers from around the globe are expected to descend upon Glasgow for this year’s Piping Live! Glasgow’s International Piping Festival from 9th – 15th August.

The 2010 programme, which includes evening concerts by Capercaillie and friends, The Treacherous Orchestra, Breabach, Finlay MacDonald & Chris Stout, The Battlefield Band and Julie Fowlis, was launched today by Festival Director Roddy MacLeod with the help of new festival ambassador, British Women’s Curling skip Eve Muirhead.
Over the last seven years, Piping Live! has established itself as one of the world’s top celebrations of Scottish culture, giving Glasgow an estimated economic boost of around £2.4 million. This year’s festival will showcase a diverse blend of traditional and modern piping from the stars of the international scene to some of today’s most electrifying young musicians.
George Square will once again be an ideal family day out as it stages free highlights throughout the week featuring the main festival acts and top international pipe bands like the Simon Fraser University Pipe Band, the Auckland & District Pipe Band and the LA Scots. The popular Glenfiddich Single Malt Scotch Whisky tent will also return to the Square to demonstrate barrel-making and the whisky making process. There will also be an art exhibition and bar marquee on the square.

The National Piping Centre will offer recitals, workshops and the popular Family Fun Day, plus it will give budding pipers and drummers the chance to take part in Come & Try sessions. At the outdoor Street Café, festival-goers can enjoy delicious Scottish fare as well as performances from some of the best piping folk combos, duos and groups including Daimh and the Armagh Pipers.
Other events throughout the week will include a series of concerts at Strathclyde University’s Todd Bar and a series of recitals, workshops and the film premiere of ‘Follow Me, I’m Right Behind You’ at the College Of Piping. The Pipe Idol competition will once again search for the international piping stars of the future and a former Pipe Idol winner and member of the Red Hot Chili Pipers, Kyle Warren will launch his first book of compositions.

The festival week will culminate with the incredible spectacle of The World Pipe Band Championships at Glasgow Green. Organised by Culture & Sport Glasgow on behalf of the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association (RSPBA), the Worlds is considered the single most important date in the calendar for pipe bands and is attended by audiences of more than 40,000 people.
At today’s launch, the festival’s new ambassador 19 year old Eve Muirhead called for more young people to pick up the pipes and head to this year’s festival. She said: “I’ve been playing the bagpipes since I was a child and I think it’s fantastic that we have a festival to celebrate them. I hope any young people that think the instrument is old-fashioned will come out and see for themselves how modern the music is and how young pipers are taking it forward.”

Festival director Roddy McLeod agreed: “Piping Live! shows the bagpipes in all of their diverse glory and this year’s programme is particularly strong. Whether you are a traditionalist, you like your pipe music with a twist, or you have never heard real world class pipe music before, there is something for you to enjoy at Piping Live!”

“Huge thanks must go to our partners who help make Piping Live! a success each year. The event is sponsored by Glenfiddich Single Malt Scotch Whisky, with funding coming from Glasgow City Marketing Bureau (GCMB), Glasgow City Council, EventScotland, The Scottish Arts Council, Scottish Enterprise, and Arts & Business Scotland. Support also comes from The National Piping Centre, the RSAMD and the College Of Piping.”

Scott Taylor, Chief Executive, Glasgow City Marketing Bureau, said: “Piping Live! is an especially important event for Glasgow. It effectively brings a vibrant, contemporary edge to Scotland’s great piping tradition whilst celebrating the country’s rich cultural and musical heritage.

”With an estimated visitor spend of around £2.4 million throughout the duration of the event, Glasgow is very much looking forward to welcoming tens of thousands of music enthusiasts to Piping Live! in August.”

Paul Bush OBE, Chief Operating Officer at EventScotland, the national events agency, said: “Piping Live! capitalises on some of Scotland’s greatest assets: our culture, our music and our hospitality. Each year, the Festival brings thousands of people to the city of Glasgow from around the world to watch, compete and enjoy the music. Many of those who attend the festival travel from overseas and build their trip to Piping Live! into a longer holiday in Scotland, which generates massive economic impact across Scotland. The Festival is a great example of how Scotland’s events industry can promote Scotland on a world stage and create real and lasting benefits at the same time.”

Tickets are available for Piping Live! by visiting www.pipinglive.co.uk. More information about the festival and the full programme can be found at www.pipinglive.co.uk and you can follow us at www.twitter.com/glasgowpiping or on facebook at www.facebook.com/PipingLive
For media information contact Wire Media:

Lee Beattie T: 0141 440 6763 M: 07855 367 922 E: lee@wire-media.co.uk

Sacha Boljevic T: 0141 440 6761 M: 07525 708 554 E: sacha@wire-media.co.uk