In the summer of 1951, Alan Lomax made his first trip to Scotland on the recommendations of folksinger Ewan MacColl and poet, song-collector and Scots nationalist Hamish Henderson. Travelling through the Scottish Lowlands, Lomax and Henderson recorded pipe tunes, children?s games, Robert Burns compositions and dozens of ballads from farm labourers, fishwives, and the Scottish travelling folk. Alan wasn?t just impressed by the variety of the country?s traditional music; he was astounded by the depth of the Scots? knowledge and appreciation of it.

?Whaur The Pig Gaed On The Spree? commemorates the 60th anniversary of Lomax?s first Scottish recordings and acknowledges their profound effect on the Scotland?s folk revival with one of its most gifted heirs at the wheel: Drag City recording artist Alasdair Roberts.

Curated by Roberts and produced in collaboration with the Alan Lomax Archive's Global Jukebox label, the record is a startlingly diverse portrait of Lowland traditional music and song: from gentle to rumbustious, hilarious to heartbreaking.