Bagpipe Music

Bagpipe music is something you love or hate. From early tunes played on goatskins and reed pipes to the baleful bagpipe music we know today, pipers pump heart into the best of bagpipe music. They play time-worn tunes and new compositions from Scotland and Ireland to the U.S., Canada and Australia.  

1. The Rogues. Bagpipe music in a fusion band? Listen to The Rogues for a brew of rock, trad bagpipe music, and percussions for a sound that blends Celtic, jazz, rock, and bluegrass. Hear The Rogues sound on their recording “V.O.”
2. Jori Chisholm. Look for Jori Chisholm for a big bagpipe sound. Jori played with The Chieftans and Bob Weir’s Rat Dog as a soloist on more than twenty recordings. Check out his CD “Bagpipe Revolution.”
3. Gordon Duncan. Composer and player Gordon Duncan connected the dots for modern listeners. Duncan’s performance at the Edinburgh International Festival’s bagpipe competition in 1999 was unforgettable when he blasted out AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck.” For a taste of Gordon Duncan’s bagpipe music, check out “Circle of Breath.”
4. John Davie Burgess. Scottish piping great John D. Burgess can be heard on his recording “A One-Off.” The king of Scottish bag pipe music picked up the pipes at age four; by ten, he began study with pipe master Willie Ross. Teacher, jurist and performer, Burgess influenced modern bagpipe music more than any other piper.
5. Rob Crabtree. An American piper, Rob Crabtree started at age ten. He was a gold medalist at the 1998 competition in Braemar, Scotland and at the 1997 North American Professional Championship. Composer and performer, his CD “The Piper's Journey,” is the companion CD to the book “The Piper's Legacy.”