HISTORY
A few players, one tune, and the start of something that stuck.
Northport Pipe & Drum Band started in 1984 with a small group of people who wanted to build something local and lasting. More than four decades later, the faces have changed, the tune list has grown, and the community connection is still the part that matters most.
1984
The idea becomes a band.
Northport Police Chief Bob Howard led members of the local fire department in creating a Northport Fire Department bagpipe band. Around twenty people attended the first meeting at the American Legion Hall just off Main Street.
Learning the pipes quickly proved demanding. Early enthusiasm was met with doublings, grips and the realities of practice…the group narrowed to six determined members.
That summer, the six made their public debut at the Eatons Neck Fourth of July parade. With no formal uniforms, they marched in Bermuda shorts, sandals and white T-shirts. Their entire repertoire was “Rowan Tree.” The Northport Pipe Band had arrived.
1985
Uniforms, instruction and momentum.
The next year brought more parades and the band’s first real uniforms. Members purchased their own kilts, sporrans, hats, belts and hose while the repertoire began to grow.
Instructor Don Goller, a former pipe major with the Nassau County Police Emerald Society Competition Pipe Band, brought new discipline and more advanced music. Several Northport players also gained competition experience through Goller’s Celtic Cross Pipe Band, helping raise the musical standard back home.
2002
A turn toward competition.
Under Pipe Major Mike Dow, the band entered its first competition in the spring of 2002. Competition came and went with personnel, family commitments and the changing Long Island pipe-band scene. Over time, the band’s focus returned primarily to parades, civic appearances and community events.
2012
Community service becomes official.
The band’s nonprofit mission was formalized, reinforcing something that had been part of Northport Pipe & Drum from the beginning: giving back. Over the years, the band has supported local food-pantries, holiday efforts and other organizations connected to the community.
2022
Bagpipes Calling!: Our Story on Film
The PBS documentary Bagpipes Calling! captured something that is difficult to explain from the parade route alone: the people behind the music. The film follows members of Northport Pipe & Drum as they balance family, work and everyday life with a shared commitment to keeping the tradition alive.
Director and piper Andrea Wozny told the story from inside the band, marching and playing alongside her bandmates. Following the group through the St. Patrick’s Day season, including a performance at the Grey Horse Tavern, the film became a personal portrait of music, friendship, community and Celtic-American heritage.
April 2026
Firehouse 12: Preserving the Northport Sound
In April 2026, the band stepped off the parade route and into the recording studio at Firehouse 12. The session marked an important first: professionally capturing the sound, arrangements and musicianship the band had built across generations of players.
In an acoustically designed recording environment, the ensemble preserved the detail and character of its music with a level of clarity a live performance cannot always capture. More than a recording session. This created a permanent musical archive, a snapshot of the band, its standards and its sound at this point in its history.
Today, we are still carrying the tradition forward
The repertoire is larger, the uniforms are sharper and the band has traveled far beyond that first Fourth of July parade. The work now is to carry that tradition forward: teach newer members, maintain musical and performance standards, preserve the culture around the music and represent Northport well.
