Johnny Miner comes to San Juan County

On Saturday, August 22, 2026 you can hear the strains of Scotland when bagpipe player Johnny Miner comes to the Blanding Arts and Events Center.
Johnny is a World Pipe Band Championship competitor with nearly 30 years of experience. Kigalia Fine Arts presents him in the first event of the 2026-27 season.
The bagpipe is considered one of the world’s most difficult instruments to play. There is a well-known saying in the piping community: “It takes one year to learn to play the bagpipes and seven years to learn to play them well.”
Mastery requires a unique combination of physical stamina, finger dexterity, and multitasking. You are effectively playing four instruments at once.
You have to maintain constant, steady air pressure by squeezing the bag under your arm while simultaneously breathing, blowing, and operating the chanter with your fingers. 
The instrument requires significant lung capacity, physical stamina, and muscle memory in your arms and hands.
Reviewer Nathan Brown said of Johnny Miner, “They say some men play the pipes, but with Johnny it’s as if the pipes breathe through the man.
“To hear him play is not merely to listen to music, it’s to be spirited away across the Atlantic, past the mist-veiled Crinan Canal, and straight into the rugged heart of the Scottish Highlands.
“When Johnny strikes the drone and the first notes of ‘Flower of Scotland’ pierce the air, the modern world simply ceases to exist.
“Whether he is weaving the haunting melody of ‘The Skye Boat Song’ or the majestic, soul-stirring echoes of ‘Highland Cathedral’, the transformation is absolute. You can almost smell the damp heather and feel the cold spray of the North Sea on your face.
“Johnny possesses the rare, ancient gift of the Gaelic ‘Sgeulachd’. His music is a spectrum of the human soul.
“The Joy: His upbeat reels evoke the fire of a clan celebration.
“The Sorrow: His laments carry the weight of a thousand years of mourning, touching a depth of grief and reverence that words cannot reach.
“The Wonder: Between the ballads, he stands as a keeper of lore, captivating the crowd with stories of Scotsmen long past and the bloody, beautiful history of his ancestors.
 “It is whispered and rightly so that Johnny’s skill is no mere hobby, but a sacred inheritance.
“His lineage stretches back generations to the most legendary pipers in Scotland’s history. You can hear that heritage in every grace note and every perfectly sustained drone.
“He doesn’t just play the songs, he carries the ghosts of the great masters in his fingers.
“If you seek a piper who can summon the spirits of the glens and move the very earth beneath your feet, look no further than Johnny. He is a master, a storyteller, and a living legend.”
Johnny Miner comes to the Blanding Arts and Events Center on Saturday, August 22. The show starts at 7 p.m.  Check it out on the Kigalia Fine Arts Facebook page or website.
“See ye efter!” (That’s Scottish for “See you later.”)