The Bagpipe Society

Blowout 2026 Performers

Eric Montbel

Eric Montbel was one of the “pioneers” of the bagpipe revival in central France. His research focused on Parisian cabrettes (musettes d’Auvergne) as early as 1978, and on the Limousin chabrette, which he was the first to revive and popularize. He was also one of the first to experiment the Bernard Blanc’s “musettes 16 pouces”, played in harmony with his friend Jean Blanchard. Eric has recorded numerous albums and toured extensively in the USA and around the world with his band Lo Jai. He also contributed to the revival of the Italian “sordellina”, alongside the maker Marco Tomassi. After an academic career, Eric is now fully dedicated to researching and promoting the french musette and chabrette repertoire and the style of these instruments."

Louis Jacques

Initially trained in musette du Centre at Châteauroux’s municipal music school, Louis Jacques explores traditional music through a variety of artistic and educational experiences. Now based in Auvergne, he has initiated several musical bands exploring the intrinsic parameters of traditional music: through the frenetic and repetitive dance of Super Parquet to the intimate poetry of oral tradition songs of La Preyra, and the wall of sound of La Tène’s drones… Graduated from the CEFEDEM AURA (Centre de Formation des enseignant.e.s de la musique) in 2012, he has taught since 2013 at Les Brayauds community music and dance school. In 2017, he participated in the creation of a new form of traditionnal school orchestra and led numerous workshops throughout France, particularly at the Les Volcaniques festival. His teaching practice has since led him to intervene and contribute at the national level to the reflection on teaching popular music (conferences, meetings…).

Cecile Delrue Birot

Cécile Delrue Birot began playing hurdy gurdy in 1998 with Patrice Gilbert at Cric Crac Compagnie. While completing her Diplôme d’Etudes Musicales (diploma of musical studies) in Limoges, she began studying violin with Philippe Ancelin and deepened her knowledge of traditional Auvergne and Limousin dances and music with Françoise Etay. From 2010 onwards, she taught hurdy gurdy and dance in workshops and regular classes throughout Europe, and in 2017 earned her Diplôme d’Etat (music teaching diploma) in traditional music from the CEFEDEM Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. She can currently be found in “Bresièr” (song from Brionnais and random choreography), “L’ombre d’un rosier” (tales of love stories), “Turbobal” (Limousin-Pictave glitter music), “A Pé Copè” (encounter between the repertoires from Auvergne and Brazil), “La Vielha” (Auvergne music with glasses), and “Toucan” (Bagpipes + Hurdy Gurdy = ❤️)

Lizzie Gutteridge

As well as being a regular member of Blondel, The York Waits and the New Cambridge Waits, Lizzie’s engagements have included the Globe’s “Nell Gwynn”, both on tour and in the West End, “The Knight of the Burning Pestle” at the Wanamaker Theatre, performances in Morocco and London with Passamezzo, large scale events at Hampton Court and the Tower of London as well as TV appearances on “Thronecast – Gameshow of Thrones” and “A Merry Tudor Christmas with Lucy Worsley” and live & recorded performances on bagpipe of Gregory Rose’s “Dance Macabre”. She recently performed a specially composed work for ‘cello and aulos in the National Gallery as part of their “Utterly in the picture” series. Lizzie’s solo project “Consort of 1” combines early music on historical instruments with the use of live looping equipment which allows layering of parts to show Medieval and Renaissance melodies from a new perspective. She also runs the Colchester Waits; a community shawm band welcoming people of all ages, abilities and musical backgrounds, and makes reeds for shawms, curtals, crumhorns and sordunes.

Jon Swayne

For the last forty-five plus years I have worked as a pipemaker and musician. I am a founder member of Blowzabella, created the bagpipe groups Moebius and Zephyrus and worked in a duo with accordionist Becky Price. I am honoured to have been Honorary President of the Society since its inception.

Aisling Holmes

Aisling has been playing pipes since her teens, starting with Leicestershire smallpipes in D, then adding border/Flemish pipes in a variety of keys. She is particularly interested in English music, playing in harmony, and writing her own tunes. Over the last few years she has been involved in setting up the Sheffield Bagpipers, an informal group who get together to play a wide variety of music on pipes every month. During 2021 Aisling started a project to write a bagpipe tune every month and record it in at least two parts.

Nicholas Konradsen

Nicholas is a maker of traditional and medieval instruments specialising in Single Reed bagpipes, hailing from Lindsey in Lincolnshire. Nicholas has been self-learning bagpipe making since the age of 16 and now has an expansive range of different instruments and has since worked with the Heritage Crafts Association on reinventing the lost Lincolnshire bagpipe.

Sean Jones

I started my career as an academic in genetic engineering but I really found my feet later in the less abstract world of industrial gases research and development. I first picked up a set of pipes in 1990 and was immediately drawn to the idea of making my own. Border pipes is where I started but then moved on to smallpipes and later uilleann pipes. I quickly realised that you could apply science, or more specifically acoustics, to the woodwork but reed making was more voodoo than maths. Well, trial and error I suppose. Since then I’ve made a lot of reeds for many different sorts of pipes and I think it’s fair to say I actually enjoy reed making. There’s always more to learn and I now realise that you can apply some acoustics to their construction. It’s not all thrashing around in the dark.

Andy Letcher

Andy Letcher is a folk musician born, raised, and now living again, in South Devon. He plays English Border Pipes, by Jon Swayne, in D and G, and low whistle. He has been an active member of, or guested in, a number of bands including Jabberwocky, Space Goats, Dragonsfly, Paescod, Nonimus, Revellion, Celtarabia, the Oxford Waites, the Steve Tylor band, Bellowhead, Wod, and Telling the Bees; and in duos with Josie Webber, Jane Griffiths, Becki Price, and Cliff Stapleton.

Roger Webster

I have been a regular participant in dance and music events in various regions of France since the late 1980s with a particular focus on the traditional dance and music of Auvergne. I also play hurdy gurdy. I have run events and led dance workshops around Exeter and at Kinnersley Castle, especially on Auvergne styles of bourrée.

David Faulkner

David has been playing pipes for over 30 years. He has played with group such as Zephyrus and the Eel Grinders. He plays solo and in various duets. David teaches regularly and has run many piping courses in the UK and abroad.

He also runs regular community folk orchestras and conducts a mandolin orchestra!

David enjoys researching and revitalising lost repertoire as well as playing for dancing!

Terry Mann

Terry studied Early Woodwind Musical Instrument Technology at the London College of Furniture in the 1980s, but pursued careers as a musician and as an award-winning contemporary classical composer. He returned to making, and has had a workshop for the last seven years, during which he has established himself as a maker of quality mediaeval and renaissance woodwinds. His current focus is on tabor pipes based on the 16th Century Mary Rose finds, and recorders based on the 15th Century Elbląg find.

Terry’s future plans include renaissance consort recorders, a Virdung late mediaeval recorder quartet, and learning to make reed instruments (rauschpfeife, curtal, shawm and crumhorn) with master craftsman Eric Moulder, supported by a scholarship from the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust. He also formed the New Cambridge Waits to perform music of the medieval and renaissance periods.