After being stuck at home for a year, plenty of Ark-La-Tex residents are yearning for another vacation. Whether it’s to the mountains, the beach or something international, we’d all like to travel again. Want some good news? There’s a way to experience a mini European vacation, and all you’ll need to do is drive to Greenwood and buy a kilt.
Nearly every Friday night, you can find the “Red River Pipes and Drums” band practicing and training new members. They’re a group of highly experienced bagpipe players that have traveled and trained their instruments around the world. If you happen to be in the neighborhood , you might just stumble across them performing on the front porch of their practice studio.
Pipe Major James Parker and two of his lifelong friends founded the group, years ago. James and two other musicians, Robert Davis and Ronald Fielder, first met in middle school band before joining the ROTC at Shreveport’s Woodlawn High School. Once in the ROTC, they learned the school was starting a new military music program – this time, centered around an instrument none of them knew, but were all fascinated by: the bagpipes.
After that, their lives would change. The group would march in parades, compete across the country, and even take their talents abroad, all the while, keeping their main headquarters, far away from the Scottish Highlands, but a short drive from Shreveport’s Highland neighborhood.
Training new pipers is their latest passion. On average the band has about 10-12 players per week, consisting of new and experienced alike. They love to train, because great players once trained them.
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“One of the best things about the bagpipes are that the greatest pipers in the world are willing to teach you,” said Parker at a band practice session. “The guy that taught me at my first piping school was a world class piper named Seamus McNeal. After training me, he would go on to start a piping college in Edenborough.”
If you’ve ever been interested in learning to play the bagpipes, check out their Facebook page here. According to Parker, entry-level instruments are relatively cheap. A ‘chanter,’ or a bagpipe without the bag, (why it’s not just called a pipe, we don’t know) starts at around $70.
You may see the “Red River Pipes and Drums ” band around town performing in full Scottish attire. They perform across the Ark-La-Tex at fairs and festivals, The Highland Games, churches and memorial services, as well as the occasional front porch concert.
Looking for fun things to do in the ArkLaTex? Check this out!