A Friendly Reminder About Value, Service, and Respect for the Music A recent social media post sparked far more conversation than expected: “Wait… you expect to be paid to march in our parade? What about the exposure?!” Yeah. No. Appreciate the invite though. What followed surprised even us. The response was overwhelming. Messages poured in. Many came from event organizers, municipalities, and community leaders asking an honest and reasonable question: What are your rates?

Much of what happens inside the Wake and District Pipe Band lives quietly. No spotlight follows it. No program note explains it. No applause marks the final note. James B. Hunt Jr., a one-time Wilson County farm boy who rose to become a four-term North Carolina governor, has died at 88. He transformed public schools, championed Smart Start and shaped state politics for decades. By Kevin Keister Pipers and drummers show up early, stand steady, tune carefully, and offer music a

Wake & District Pipe Band to Celebrate Burns Night, 20 Years of Service, and Release Limited “Band Batch” Bourbon with Olde Raleigh Distillery Raleigh, NC — January 2026 — The Wake & District Public Safety Pipes & Drums will host an informal Robert Burns Night celebration on Saturday, January 24 , bringing music, heritage, and community together at Olde Raleigh Distillery. The evening also marks two milestones: 20 years of Wake & District and five years of Olde Raleigh Dist

Some years announce themselves with noise. Others arrive quietly and ask a harder question. 2025 asked us whether we would keep showing up. Monday after Monday. Call time after call time. In joy, in grief, in fatigue, in celebration. And we did. Not perfectly. Not effortlessly. But faithfully. This year unfolded in rehearsal rooms, parking lots, tuning spaces, and long conversations after the drums and drones went quiet. It lived in early mornings before ceremonies and late