Las Vegas Pipe Band plays the traditional regimental march tune Rowan Tree as the middle in a set of 3 tunes bookended by Scotland The Brave and Wings. It's a beautiful tune and one of the first parade tunes new members learn. We probably play it at least once every practice and I can't think of a time that we didn't start off with a tidbit of historical knowledge or a fun trivia fact about the tune from Max: "Does anyone know what kind of tree the Rowan tree is?" to which the more studious members of the band, or those with decent memories, would reply: "an ash tree." Max would make sure we all knew it was a white ash (or mountain ash) as a matter of fact. Max also told me that the Rowan Tree was thought to ward off evil spirits and witches - so a perfect topic for this time of year!

With the World Pipe Band Championships coming up, let’s take a moment to recall a watershed moment in piping history. On August 15, 1987, the 78th Fraser Highlanders from Ontario, Canada became the first non-Scottish band to win the World Pipe Band Championships in Grade 1.