We are TAKING FLIGHT
Read about all the ways we're preparing for take off to get to Scotland next month!
Greetings! We hope you’re all enjoying the sizzling start of Summer (if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere) and staying cool out there. Since it’s been a minute, we wanted to share what the band has been up to. First off though, an invitation FOR YOU!
Please join us in beautiful Palos Verdes Estates, California (a beach city just 30 minutes South of LAX) on Saturday, July 20th at 2pm for our premiere concert, “Taking Flight.” We will be performing our World Pipe Band Championship competition tunes, classic Scottish favorites, and more — alongside solo musicians, our ceilidh ensemble band, and Celtic dancers for two hours of music from the British Isles.
The concert will be held in the spectacular St. Francis Episcopal Church at 2200 Via Rosa, just up from the beach in Palos Verdes Estates.
We will also have all our merchandise for sale at the concert, along with opportunities to win prizes and a mini-band performance for your private or public event. This concert is our major fundraiser to cover the band’s expenses in Scotland, where we compete at the World Pipe Band Championships on August 17th. Donations to City of Angels Pipe Band, a 501(c)3 organization, may be tax deductible.
1:30pm — Doors open at St. Francis Episcopal Church in Palos Verdes Estates
2-4pm — Concert (Tickets can be purchased online at Brown Paper Tickets, or at the door on the day of the event.
4pm — After the concert, the band will be relaxing and celebrating a few minutes away at Belle Epoque, a casual bar/restaurant with a speakeasy vibe located at 265 Avenida del Norte in Redondo Beach. We’d love to see you there!
Buy your concert tickets online here, and we can’t wait to share our music with you!
Be ready, so you don’t have to get ready
The band has been hard at work in preparation for Scotland, having several intensive workshops led by world class instructors. The workshops will continue right up until the weekend before we leave for Glasgow, and have involved hours and hours of rigorous instruction in piping, drumming, and ensemble work. Despite the massive effort and energy being put in by every member of the band, everyone is really energized by the result of the work! Hearing and experiencing the evolution and development of the individual sections of the band, and the ensemble as a whole, has truly shown us what we are capable of achieving and we’re continuing to build on that as we prepare to head to Scotland.
To recap our contest results this season, we competed at the Las Vegas Highland Games in April, taking 2nd place as a band in both the Grade 3 MSR and Medley contests, and winning Best Grade 3 Drum Corps and Best Grade 3 Midsection overall.
A month later we headed to Scottish Fest in Costa Mesa over Memorial Day weekend and took 1st place in both the Grade 3 MSR and Medley contests, Best Drum Corps of Grade 3, and the Grade 3 Aggregate!
Really great results that we’re all super proud of and that represents all of the intensive work and passion the band has been putting into rehearsals to prepare for Scotland.
What’s Next?
We have so many other big plans for 2024 and can’t wait to take you along on the journey with us. Here are some of our remaining events for 2024, which will be updated in real time on our website homepage and shared out across our social media channels.
July 20: “Taking Flight” Concert | Palos Verdes Estates, California
Aug 17: World Pipe Band Championships | Glasgow, Scotland
Aug 31 - Sep 1: Caledonian Club of San Francisco Scottish Games | Pleasanton, California
Oct 12-13: Seaside Highland Games | Ventura, California
The band has set a high bar for itself as an organization, as individual musicians, and are especially committed to world class performance excellence and inclusion. We are inspired to continue our exciting 2024 season, and hope you’ll come along with us!