Piping Quest

Within a year after I started playing pipes, my band involvement had taken me to a good portion of the east coast of the United States, as well as a month-long trip to Scotland. I realized the potential for travel, and thus set the goal for myself to play my pipes in each of the 50 Unites States.

I set the guideline that it must be a performance, competition, or serious practice session, so pulling over to play by the side of the road for 5 minutes doesn’t count. I’ve decided the practice session must be long enough for me to play a few warmup tunes, an MSR, and a full piobaireachd. This page follows my progress where I’ve been able to meet those requirements thus far. Check back or subscribe to the RSS feed to follow my quest!

I use this map to track my progress (click on the map to make your own). As of the latest addition (Washington, DC in March 2011), I have 19 states plus the district. I’ve also played in two Canadian provinces (Ontario and Quebec), Mexico, Scotland, and a cruise ship in the Gulf of Mexico.

First: Virginia (April 1999)

Most recent: Washington, DC (March 2011)

Below is a list of each state I’ve hit, with the event, city, and date.

Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida Disney World Parade, Orlando, April 1999
Georgia Stone Mountain Highland Games, Stone Mountain, October 2001
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky Glasgow Highland Games, Glasgow, June 2004
Louisiana
Maine Job interview, Fryeburg, April 2006
Maryland Memorial Day Parade, Westminster, May 1999
Massachusetts Glasgowlands Highland Games, Northampton, July 2007
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri Winter Storm (practice), Kansas City, January 2009
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire Irish music session, North Conway, August 2006
New Jersey Funeral, Trenton, February 2000
New Mexico
New York St. Patrick’s Day Parade, New York City, March 2000
North Carolina Loch Norman Highland Games, Huntersville, April 2001
North Dakota
Ohio Scotts w’ Shotts, Lorain, March 2004
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania Band practice, Bethel Park, April 2003
Rhode Island Rhode Island Highland Games, Richmond, May 2007
South Carolina Parade, Charleston, November 1999
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas Funeral, Lake Jackson, January 2001
Utah
Vermont Band practice, St. Johnsbury, December 2006
Virginia Parade, Lexington, April 1999
Washington
Washington, D.C. Pub crawl, March 2011
West Virginia Scottish festival, Bridgeport, May 2004
Wisconsin
Wyoming

Other places I’ve played:

Ontario, Canada: Hamilton Highland Games, Hamilton, June 2004
Quebec, Canada: Montreal Highland Games, August 2007
Scotland: World Pipe Band Championships, Glasgow, August 2006
Calica, Mexico: December 2007