Gordon Duncan Tribute Pipe Band: Live ‘N’ Well @ 30 – Celtic Connections – Glasgow Royal Concert Hall – January 17, 2026.

We arrived at the venue to join family, friends, former bandmates and fans of the music of Gordon Duncan to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Live ’N’ Well, the groundbreaking album that broke the mould and re-shaped modern piping.

‘Why are we at a pipe band concert!’ although he didn’t actually say this, I could tell from the expression on my brother-in-law’s face that it was what he was thinking. I suspect he was starting to regret telling me to buy him tickets to anything we were going to. He soon realised this wasn’t the Cowal Gathering.

The inimitable Stuart Cassells, as MC, brought warmth, humour and a deep personal connection to the event, putting it into its historical context, giving us a potted history of the Vale of Atholl Pipe Band.

Talking about its youth work, their controversial approach to piping and falling under the influence of Ian and Gordon Duncan, when he joined the band, which he would eventually leave to form the Red Hot Chilli Pipers.

Stuart introduced Ross Ainslie and Ali Hutton, two of Gordon’s greatest protégés and the driving forces behind this celebration. Their opening set was a superb introduction to what would follow.

The original Live ’N’ Well album was a fusion of piping brilliance, folk instrumentation and Gordon’s compositional daring. The specially assembled tribute pipe band, curated by Ian Duncan and Ryan King, and rooted in the Vale of Atholl tradition, chose not to simply recreate it but to reinterpret it.

Their arrangement of Celtic Music Radio presenter, Moira Kerr’s MacIain of Glencoe was outstanding. My absolute favourite of all Gordon’s compositions is The Sleeping Tune, so the highlight of the concert for me had to be the last minute appearance of Greg Lawson performing his arrangement of it, accompanied by Donald Shaw on piano. A friend later told me she had cried on hearing it.

And in no time, it was over. The band donned their sombreros for their final piece, Il Paco Grande, a big, theatrical medley arranged by Gordon Duncan during his Vale of Atholl years.

Then they marched off stage, through the hall, down the stairs and into the café where they continued playing for a while. Gordon would have approved.

HUGH TAYLOR