Scottish musicians will tour Route 66 in April

An all-star group of Scottish-style muscians will embark on a Route 66 tour in early April, including several performances. The tour is called Pipes & Sticks on Route 66.

According to the news release:

Dubbed “Pipes & Sticks on Route 66,” bass-drummer Mike Cole, snare-drummer Jim Kilpatrick, and pipers Stuart Liddell, Angus MacColl and Willie McCallum will start in Chicago on April 2nd, with the first scheduled concert on April 7th at the Irish American Heritage Center Auditorium in Chicago.

“The idea hatched last May with a conversation Stuart [Liddell] and I had on a flight to the U.S.,” McCallum said. “We thought the trip sounded fantastic and we had both always wanted to do it. Doing it combined with the pipes sounded very logical. It then grew a bit when we considered how we could do some concerts, workshops with pipes and drums combined. We sat on it for a few weeks whilst we thought of the best way ahead.

“It was then a case of who we thought would be interested in coming along as a team of five. Those we approached first agreed with no hesitation and we think it’s an amazingly talented line-up.”

Among the group is just about every important solo piping and drumming award, many of which have been won several times over. McCallum said that additional events will be announced as they are determined.

“We will stick as far as possible to the original Route 66, but there will be a few diversions along the way,” McCallum added, and said that the group will travel in a small bus, and will stay in motels en route.

The Pipes & Sticks on Route 66 schedule has the group performing in Chicago, Tulsa, Albuquerque, Flagstaff, Ariz., and Pasadena, Calif. It also scheduled one show in Lubbock, Texas — about 120 miles south of the Mother Road.

The group also will host a few teaching workshops along the way.

Pipes & Sticks on Route 66 also has a Facebook page.

John McDonald of Pasadena is planning a film documentary about the group’s tour. He’s launched a Kickstarter campaign to help fund the project. Here’s a video of him explaining it:

McDonald wrote:

The guys approached me and asked if I’d like to make a documentary about the adventure.  I didn’t have to think too hard about it as it seemed like the trip of a lifetime with all the potential of being a really entertaining film.  My previous feature documentary, ON THE DAY:  The Story of the Spirit of Scotland Pipe Band, was totally funded by contributions from the piping and Scottish community from around the world – and that was before I knew about Kickstarter.  Last summer, I launched a successful Kickstarter campaign to fund the On The Day 3-Disc Collector’s Box Set, so now I’m reaching out to you again to make this project a reality.

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