Craig (2nd left) and his bandmates met parade Grand Marshal KT Tunstall backstage at the Official Post Parade Party at the B.B. King Blues Club & Grill, which Gleadhraich played.
An Angus VIP piper has made his fourth consecutive appearance in New York City Tartan Week the biggest yet by having BOTH his bands play in it, hosting his own party in a Manhattan bar AND meeting Parade Grand Marshal KT Tunstall.
After two successful solo piping trips to the event in 2015 and 2016, during which he met Sir Billy Connolly, Jimmy Fallon, Alan Cumming, Tommy Flanagan and Fred Macaulay as well as playing the pipes at the 9/11 Memorial, last year Carnoustie VIP piper Craig Weir returned with his band Gleadhraich. They were a huge hit at the official Post-Parade Party at the B.B. King Blues Club & Grill near Times Square.
New band
This year the 24-year-old Dundee primary school teacher, who’s piped for Queen, the Bay City Rollers, Arnold Schwarzenegger, the MOBOs and the Dalai Lama, went one better for the 20th anniversary of the event by also bringing his new band, Craig Weir & The Cabalistic Cavalry, which he launched last year with a debut single featuring the voices of 21 music and TV stars including Brian May, Les McKeown, Kyle Falconer, Peter Doherty, Lorraine Kelly and Alan Cumming.
They joined Scots music star KT Tunstall and 500 marchers in the 20th Anniversary Tartan Day Parade along 6th Avenue, watched by more than 30,000 spectators, before Gleadhraich played the official post-parade party at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill. Craig and the bands then dashed across town to Blooms Tavern to host the first ‘Craig Weir & Friends Tartan Week Hoolie’ featuring Gleadhraich and acts they’re friendly with.
They even got to chat with KT, the first female Grand Marshal in the event’s history, at B.B. King’s after she’d cheered them as they passed her in the parade.
Angus piper Craig Weir (2nd right) and Gleadhraich bandmates preparing to march in the New York Tartan Day Parade.
Tour
Craig’s week began last Monday, when he and his bandmates flew out to the States, where they started their tour with tourist trips to Alexandria, Virginia, and Washington DC. On Tuesday evening Gleadhraich played at a concert for Dundee’s twinning with Alexandria followed by attending the Mayor’s reception.
Wednesday saw the group cross the state line into New Jersey for Gleadhraich to headline a gig at The Saint in Asbury Park. They added their version of Blitzkrieg Bop to the set in honour of The Ramones, who’ve played there previously. On Thursday they finally arrived in The Big Apple, where Craig Weir & the Cabalistic Cavalry headlined a concert at Connolly’s on East 29th Street and debuted some new songs.
Friday began with Craig and guitarist Ross White performing at the Tartan Day Observance in Bryant Park alongside musical friends The Highland Divas before visiting Alexander Robertson School on the Upper East Side of Manhattan – the oldest in the USA – where they gave a short talk and played some acoustic pieces for the pupils as part of the end of week assembly. They then met with the rest of Gleadhraich to hit the tourist hotspots of Manhattan.
Finally, last Saturday, Craig and Gleadhraich got to walk in the city’s world-famous Tartan Day Parade for the second successive year and met Grand Marshal KT Tunstall.
‘Incredible’
Speaking about the visit, Craig said: “This week has been incredible. We were all so excited to be touring the East Coast with Gleadhraich as well as fitting in a Cabalistic Cavalry show and it has been amazing to play in these different cities. The crowds have been crazy from start to finish.
Gleadhraich playing the Official Post-Parade Party at the B.B. King Blues Club & Grill for the second successive year.
“The highlight was playing B.B. King’s again and it was great to meet KT afterwards. When we came offstage she was in our dressing room and said she loved the set we played.
“You can’t underestimate how insane it is to walk down 6th Avenue with your mates waving to the thousands of people gathered in the streets to cheer and clap. It makes you feel so incredibly patriotic – an incredible feeling that never leaves you.
“It was made all the more special because, as we walked by, KT was screaming ‘Gleadhraich!’ at us.”
The rest of the year is looking good for the bands, with gigs planned in the UK and abroad, including a concert in Forfar with Skerryvore in December. For details go to each band’s Facebook page.