Ready to learn the bagpipes?

The St John’s Bagpipe Academy has everything you need to master this unique instrument. Our comprehensive course includes step-by-step personal lessons, interactive sheet music for tunes and exercises, and tuning and maintenance assistance. Plus, with 1-on-1 coaching from our experienced instructor, P/M Bill Muzzy from the North American Academy of Piping and Drumming, you'll achieve your bagpiping goals in no time. Our courses are affordable (free), flexible, and perfect for beginners and intermediate players. Join The St Johns Bagpipe Academy today and start your bagpiping journey.

Advanced players can benefit from the individual lessons from our instructors at $75/hr for individual lessons. P/M Bill Christmas provides focused lessons on execution, timing and musical interpretation in a highly focused lesson series designed to boost performance, speed and stage presence for those competing at regional and national levels.

Bagpipes are one of those instruments that most people (outside of Scotland for sure) rarely hear live. And that’s a shame, because this ancient, much maligned, 4-reeded, mouth-blown pipe organ makes beautiful music.

Music has been part of the culture here since well before statehood, with French, Spanish and Celtic visitors and settlers bringing their instruments and culture to the region before the War of Independence, and history shows the Highland Regiments were here at the Battle of New Orleans, in January 1815, in the form of the much storied but little known 93rd Highland regiment. (See Blog post 5 Sep 2023)

The pipes were an integral part of Scottish regimental presence, and after the war’s end, many landless Scots and Irish settled in the Gulf Coast area, spreading out over the 250 years since, bringing the music of the pipes and fiddle with them. While piping may have been a popular part of early life along the coast, for modern bagpipes and bagpipers, the region is now almost barren as new generations have forgotten their ancestry under the hard scrabble of life here. New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Mobile and even Hattiesburg have pipe bands, but Biloxi, Gulfport, Ocean Springs, Pascagoula - do not.

The Mississippi portion of the Gulf Coast stretches along 26 miles of white sandy beaches from Louisiana to Alabama, curving along the rim of the Gulf of Mexico. It is home to several military bases and a large retired and former military population, supported by a major Veterans Administration installation and several casinos. A pipe band for this region would be welcomed and supported, and that is the best reason for us to play.

Back in April 2022, the little town of Ocean Springs was scandalized by the callous murder of Carl the Rooster, the Second of his Name, a familiar sight around central downtown, and a tourist attraction for the locals and visitors alike. 

Carl 2.0 was a beloved community rooster who had thousands of fans in the visitors and residents who met him. Outrage was swift and loud after fans learned of Carl's abduction and gallucide. Security footage from a business on Government Street showed Carl 2.0 being captured by a group of people around 3 a.m. on April 22. Another video, taken roughly 15 minutes later in Biloxi, showed a former Juvenile Detention Officer dumping the rooster's body in a parking lot. Tragically, Carl 2.0's body was never recovered. 

We were asked by the Second Line organizers to present an appropriate send off for the celebrity, and we chose several tunes appropriate to memorializing Carl the Rooster. Since our presentation was greeted with such enthusiasm by our community, it was unanimous - Carl was the obvious figure to be immortalized on our logo, and there he is, fierce and proud. And that’s the reason we have a chicken on our badge.

Once a year, on the second weekend in November, the Highlands and Islands Association of Celtic Gatherings in Gulfport puts on the H&I Celtic Festival, currently based at the Harrison County Fairgrounds north of Gulfport, MS. We feature at this festival, both as performers and as organizers, with invitation pipers and bands on our grounds for a weekend filled with Scottish and Irish food, music and fun.

Last year, we (again) had a HUGE turnout, despite the (again) somewhat Scottish weather! There were two kilt makers, a Scottish grocery and a bagpipe store, as well as Clan tents, artisans, beer and the usual massed pipes and drums we feature at midday each day. There were sausages, pies, beer and fish and chips, Irish stew, candy and pretzels - both days saw record numbers of old and new faces, and there was something for everyone, with Scottish athletics, jousting and birds of prey as featured attractions. Music by Celtic Reign, the Jollies, the Kiltlifters and local musical groups with harp, Irish flute and uillean pipes filled our ears and brought joy to our hearts.

This year marks the 40TH YEAR Highlands and Islands' organization has been in existence. To mark the occasion, H&I have planned some very special one-of-a-kind events and souvenirs for the 2025 which will be advertised in the months to come. Come kilted and bring your pipes - the Ceilidh is Saturday Night! 

Thanks to all who attended last year - we will be back THIS YEAR! For more information, follow this link. 

Pipe Major/Primary Instructor:

Bill Muzzy, Ocean Springs - [email protected]

Email P/M. Muzzy for free beginner lessons and general information.

Pipe Sergeant/Instructor

Bill Christmas, Ocean Springs - [email protected]

Email COL. Christmas for paid individual lessons, bookings and requests for pipers

For obvious reasons, we do not publish members’ phone numbers. Email us and we will respond. For your convenience, we have an auto mailer form on our Contact Page to make this easier for you. Please include a contact name, phone number, appropriate time to call, and a few details about your inquiry.