The Uig Piper in Washington

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Piper Lorne Cousin with Sir Sean Connery at the US Library of Congress.

Lorne is an Uigeach, grandson to Murdo Macleod 17 Uigen (Murchadh a Ghobha), himself a piper, and nephew to Murdo Beag.   In 2004 he toured with Madonna (Lorne, not Murdo) and has played many high-profile events. On the night of Barack Obama’s first Address to Congress on 24 February, Lorne performed along with Sandi Thom and Margaret Bennett at the US Library of Congress in Washington where a Burns Symposium was in progress.  The night was organised by Alex Salmond (see his speech) and attended by Sir Sean and about 30 senators and congressmen of Scottish descent.  The senators and congressmen then had to rush off to Congress next door for the President’s speech.

Lorne said:

It was a great honour to perform on such an historic occasion. President Obama was only next door so I hope he heard the pipes!  One of the Senator’s wives said to me “How does it feel to be the second most popular man in the room!” Sir Sean Connery was there at the time.

Where does this leave Alex? Anyway, Lorne’s band DRAM! (“The Future Sound of Bagpipes”) has recently released their album Done Deed on iTunes and you can find them on Lorne’s website and hear clips on Myspace.