What is "bagad"

A bagad (, ) is a Breton band, composed of bagpipes ( Breton: binioù, French: Cornemuse), bombards and drums (including snare, tenor and bass drums). The pipe band tradition in Brittany was inspired by the Scottish example and has developed since the mid-20th century. A bagad plays mainly Breton music, but a bagad's music is evolutionary: new forms and musical ideas are experimented with at each annual national competition.

The plural for bagad is unusual in that many are referred to as bagadoù but for two, three or any other specified number they are simply referred to as bagad (following the rules of Breton grammar).

Every major town and city in Brittany has at least one bagad and there are over eighty in total. There are also many bagadoù outside Brittany, owing to large-scale Breton emigration throughout France. Bagad Lann Bihoue is well known to belong to the French Navy.

For competition purposes the bagadoù are ranked into five categories. Major competitions take place annually in Brest and in Lorient, where the National Championship takes place during the Inter-Celtic Festival in August.