Vancouver bagpipers outraged over a busking ban may be able to play in peace as the city plans to review its street entertainment rules.
Disquiet among the musical group broke out after discovering on the City of Vancouver's website that bagpipers could be denied permits due to noise concerns.
After an outcry from the community, Mayor Gregor Roberston clarified his view on the ban.
"My first reaction is that a complete ban on bagpipes and percussion instruments across the city is ridiculous and culturally insensitive," he said in a written statement.
"The clans won't stand for it!" he added.
Robertson says he's asked city staff to review the issue, and his spokesman Braeden Caley told ctvbc.ca the web content citing limitations on bagpiping will be taken down Tuesday.
When news first hit about restricting bagpipe buskers, the musicians came out to defend their art.
Longtime bagpiper Mike Chisholm says some people wrongly perceive the instrument's sound as a nuisance.
"What we do is we make music, and my belief has always been that people that don't like bagpipes have likely experienced a bad performance," he told ctvbc.ca
Chisholm says he was rankled bagpiping street performers could be shooed away, especially because Vancouver is a hub for the tradition.
The Simon Fraser University Pipe Band has nabbed the top spot at the Glasgow World Pipe Band Championship six times and second place nine times.
Watch this YouTube video for a taste of the group's music:
