ABOUT

ANDREW FUSCO,
LAS VEGAS BAGPIPER

I’m Andrew Fusco – a full-time bagpiper, music teacher and rock drummer living in Las Vegas, Nevada.

I’m passionate about bagpipes, having played for more than 20 years as a professional piper, a high-grade solo competitor, and a band player, and I've been Pipe Major (band leader) of the Las Vegas Pipe Band since 2008.

I regularly play for a range of events in and around Las Vegas – as you can imagine, I’ve seen some weird and wonderful things in my time as a piper here, but I’m also honored that so many people have invited me to be a part of the happiest and saddest days of their lives at their weddings and funerals.

Visit my booking page to request a quote to hire me at your next event.

I’m also an experienced teacher for bagpipe soloists; class teaching faculty with the world’s largest online piping school, Dojo University; and a regular guest tutor for band workshops, bagpiping summer schools and large piping workshops, including:

• the United States School of Bagpiping and Drumming

• the Dojo University Bagpiping Cruise

• the Dojo University Tuning Clinic

• the Dojo University 30-Day Bagpipe Makeover.

I have dozens of solo piping students from the United States, Canada and Australia who I teach in person and online, and I’m always happy to take more.

If you’re interested in learning to play, or taking your piping to the next level if you already play, visit my teaching page to learn more about how we could work together.

NEVADA STATE TARTAN

When I’m out and about performing, I get asked a lot, “What do your kilt colors mean?”

If you’ve ever seen Outlander or Braveheart, you’ll be familiar with traditional Scottish dress – kilts, sporrans, brogues, glengarries, dirks, sgian dubhs, to name a few (yes, some of it does get ridiculous to try to pronounce).

First, to dispel a myth, you don’t have to be Scottish to wear a kilt or any of these other items – they are still a strong part of the tradition of bagpiping in many countries around the world today.

Second, not all tartans – the colored pattern woollen kilts are made from – are from Scotland. People from places all around the world design modern tartans. Of the few American-designed tartans, I’m proud to wear the one that represents our beautiful state.

Nevada State Tartan was designed in 2001 by a member of the local Las Vegas pipe band, Desert Skye (now known as Las Vegas Pipe Band), and is officially recognized by Lord Lyon, Scotland’s tartan authority, as Nevada’s state tartan.

The colors represent:

• blue and silver for Nevada’s state colors

• red for the Virgin Valley black fire opal and the red rock formations of southern Nevada

• yellow for the sagebrush, Nevada’s state flower

• white for the state’s name – Nevada is Spanish for ‘snowy or snow clad’, like the Sierra Nevada mountain range that overlooks us from the eastern border of California.