Red Hot Chilli Pipers

Red Hot Chilli Pipers play the State Fair of Texas on Thursday, October 8, at 7:45 PM. They're a Scottish band that blends traditional pipe tunes with contemporary rock, a sound they call 'Bagrock'. It's exactly what it sounds like: bagpipes playing rock and roll.

They've been doing this for a while. They were voted Scotland's 'Live Act of the Year' in 2007 and 2010 at the Scots Trad Music Awards, and they took the top prize on the UK television talent show When Will I Be Famous in 2007. Since then, they've released four albums, including Bagrock To The Masses (2008), BLAST Live! (2009), and Music for the Kilted Generation (2010). They've played all over the place, from Edinburgh and Glasgow to the 2014 World Cup and tours of Australia.

Their set mixes rock covers with traditional tunes. You'll hear AC/DC's 'Long Way to the Top', The Who's 'Baba O'Riley', and Deep Purple's 'Smoke On The Water' alongside traditional pieces like 'Flower of Scotland' and 'The Hills of Argyll'. It's a fair amount of ground to cover in one night, and the rock covers are played on pipes.

The show is part of the 2026 State Fair of Texas, which runs from September 25 to October 18. The Pipers take the stage on Thursday, October 8, at 7:45 PM at the fairgrounds on Parry Avenue in Dallas.