Back when the Red Hot Chilli Pipers started an act that fused bagpipes with rock instrumentation and covers as well as performances of traditional Scottish music, they could at least be given credit for one of the greatest punny band names ever.

Could they make it work?

Yes. Decidedly so.

The Pipers are an excellent live band whose performances go way beyond shtick. In fact, reports have filtered back that folks sometimes arrived at gigs by multi-platinum, Rock and Roll Hall of Famers the Red Hot Chili Peppers gigs thinking they had tickets to to see the PIPERS — not the PEPPERS.

To be clear, it’s the PIPERS who’ll hit town Saturday to rock New London’s Garde Arts Center.

Oh, and while the Pipers offer clever arrangements of tunes by Queen, Walk the Moon, Leonard Cohen, Coldplay, Survivor, AC/DC, ZZ Top, Ed Sheeran and more, it’s worth asking whether the Pipers play any Peppers.

Well, listen for “Higher Ground,” the iconic Stevie Wonder song that became iconic-er via a high energy adaptation by the Peppers. Maybe we’ll find out whether the Pipers’ rendition makes “Higher Ground” triply iconic.

Red Hot Chilli Pipers, 8 p.m. Saturday, Garde Arts Center, 325 State St., New London; $40-$60; gardearts.org, (860) 444-7373.