Scottish tribal bands have been around for centuries.
Hundreds of years ago, their sound would accompany soldiers as they fought valiantly in ancient battles. Thanks to bands like Clanadonia, the traditions of Scottish drums and bagpipes remain alive and well.
In this video, Clanadonia plays their song “Ya Bassa” during St Andrew’s Day and goes viral for their powerful performance.
Clanadonia is a traditional Scottish tribal band from Glasgow, Scotland who are rich in the Celtic traditions of their home country. Formed in 2007, Clanadonia sports traditional kilts while they create magical music on the massive tribal drums and unique bagpipes.
Back in 2019, Clanadonia stunned a crowd with their drums and bagpipes while they played during St Andrew’s Day.
At the beginning of the video, the drummers start playing a beat by tapping on the side of their drums before the real show starts.
That’s when the bagpipes come in and begin to play beautifully with the drums.
The song they’re playing is called “Ya Bassa,” which comes for the ancient Gaelic war cry “aigh bas,” meaning “battle and die.”
When you close your eyes and listen, you can only imagine the feeling the drums and bagpipes used to give soldiers who were charging ahead.
Clanadonia stays perfectly on cue with each other, with the long-bearded frontman on the drums leading the way.
Every time he signals, the other drummers pound heavily on the tops of their drums with the high-pitched bagpipes still streaming in the back round.
About 1:30 into the video, Clanadonia picks it up a notch and starts to really showcase their skills.
Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, the drummers pick up the pace and start playing a deep and gorgeous melody.
It’s not just the drums that speed up—the bagpipes also begin playing faster in unison with the drums.
The breath it must take to play those bagpipes is profound…you can see their cheeks puffing up as they blow out as much air as possible!
Clanadonia goes through the entire performance without skipping a beat.
From start to finish, the talented Scottish tribal band plays a breathtaking beat that makes you want to get up and bounce around.
The show stops as quickly as it started, with one final bang the whole band stomps on a dime to end the show.
This isn’t the only time Clanadonia has wowed onlookers and went viral for their impressive musical talent.
Several videos of them playing have found their way to YouTube, many of which have blown up to be massively viral.
Every time Clanadonia plays on the streets of Scotland, crowds gather to appreciate the tradition of Scottish music.
If you ever find yourself in Scotland, there’s a good chance that you’ll encounter Clanadonia or another amazing tribal band playing in the streets.
The video of them playing “Ya Bassa” during St Andrew’s Day in 2019 spread like wildfire on the internet and captivated people from all around the world.
This video has been viewed over 3.4 million times, with 56,000 liking it and thousands leaving comments.
Thanks to the internet, we’re able to discover incredible bands like Clanadonia that are steeped in ancient traditions and keep their Nation’s history alive.
To see them play “Ya Bassa,” watch the video below!
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