The 2011 pipe band competition season got underway on April 30 at the Celtic Festival of Southern Maryland. It was a beautiful spring day, and the grade 3 MacMillan Pipe Band and grade 4 MacMillan-Birtles Memorial Pipe Band both got off to a good start.

MacMillan-Birtles hit the field for their first competition under pipe major Dan Bell, and gave a very respectable medley performance. It was a strong field, and they placed third out of four bands in the grade.

A short time later MacMillan took the field for a March/Strathspey/Reel competition. They gave a solid performance, and as the only band in grade 3 they came out in first place.

There’s no rest for either band, as the Fair Hill Scottish Games are only three weeks away.