Recently, I had the honor of playing at a funeral service at Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery in Houston. As a Houston bagpiper, it is always a privilege to be part of such significant moments. As the family gathered and the casket was moved into place, I played a selection of traditional tunes, culminating in “Amazing Grace” at the end of… Read more →
Do you want to have a traditional Scottish wedding, but you can’t make it over the pond for the ceremony? What can you do to include Scottish wedding traditions into your Houston wedding? My wedding anniversary is coming up and I began to think about how we wanted to integrate our Scottish heritage into our ceremony. We only had 19… Read more →
You may have noticed that in some pipe bands the bass and tenor drummers wear animal skins. The burning question is: Why? Well, the tradition began in the British military bands in the 1700’s. They discovered that the Africans that joined the Army were really good at playing drums and keeping beats. These drummers joined the 29th Regiment of… Read more →
Join me this weekend at Newman’s Castle in Bellville, Texas for a Spring Celebration. Things kick off at 2 PM. Musical guests include Constant Billy, Sia Beaton,Don & Janet Allphin, Wenches of Wylde Meade, Ryan Claxton, and Myself. There will be light refreshments and the cost is only $20. Newman’s Castle is a great venue for all types of events;… Read more →
My family has some serious military ties. My wife is a veteran of the US Navy and my step-son is currently serving in the US Air Force. Both of my grandfathers served in the British Army during WWII. Last weekend, the Air Force Ensemble Band, Celtic Aire played at the North Texas Irish Festival. They have a bagpiper! Tech Sgt.… Read more →
When most people think about the bagpipe, they automatically think about the Great Highland Bagpipe of Scotland, but the bagpipe is a multi-cultural instrument. The bagpipe has been around for centuries in many lands. In his book,”Bagpipes, A National Collection of a National Instrument”, Hugh Cheape wrote that “In the medieval period the bagpipe was played in almost every country and… Read more →
Playing pipes takes me to many different venues and I get to perform with many different musicians playing all kinds of music. I got to perform with the incomparable Abby Green at Sherwood Forest Faire in McDade, Texas in 2011. We called ourselves Kean and Green that weekend. Abby is an accomplished musician with a treasure trove of music in her… Read more →
Last year was very busy for me and I was very fortunate to play my pipes at a few great weddings. The couples were all fantastic and were kind enough to share some photo’s so I thought I’d share them here. Thanks and here’s to a great year ahead!
Hi and welcome to my blog! I’ve been playing in Texas for quite a while now and thought it was time to start a blog and share some of my travels. So many of the places I get to see and visit in Houston and Texas as a bagpiper are worth sharing – so here we go! Read more →