Artist Overview

Donald WG Lindsay is a Scottish folk singer, multi-instrumentalist, and innovator acclaimed for his rare baritone voice, richly authentic interpretations of traditional Scots ballads, mature and distinctive songwriting style, and groundbreaking work in Scottish smallpipes design. His music bridges heritage and innovation, centered on warm low-register vocals and the distinctive tone of his custom smallpipes — described as a "mossy bed" beneath the vocals by John Dale, writing for Uncut Magazine.

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Hailed as “one of the most distinctive and influential figures in contemporary folk” (Celtic Connections), Lindsay pairs a deeply resonant singing style with the Lindsay System Scottish smallpipes — a keyless chanter design he invented to extend the instrument’s range up to three octaves, while preserving traditional fingering. Developed between 2006 and 2016 through meticulous prototyping, including early use of 3D printing, the Lindsay System preserves idiomatic technique while vastly increasing musical scope. It has been openly shared as an open-source design, now used by a generation of pipers and makers, and original prototypes are housed in the National Piping Centre’s Museum of Piping in Glasgow.

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Much of Lindsay’s song repertoire is carried by his own distinctive guitar style, on six-string and on a modified, unison-strung 12-string guitar – the latter singled out for praise by Iggy Pop as "beautifully played" on his "Confidential" show on BBC R6 Music.

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Donald’s work spans traditional song, instrumental composition, and community-centred innovation. His debut solo album, Two Boats Under the Moon (2025), a double LP of original and traditional material, earned 5 stars in BBC Music Magazine, 4 stars in Songlines and The Scotsman, and placed in the Folk Alliance International radio charts. It was launched aboard a tall ship at the 50th Girvan Folk Festival, marking both the artist’s deep connection to tradition and a characteristic creative twist.

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In addition to solo work, Donald performs in duo with long-time collaborator Alasdair Roberts — whose liner notes credit Donald as a source of songs and influence — and with fiddler Roo Geddes. Their 2025 duo album Welcome Home My Dearie, recorded live to tape, documents a natural interplay shaped by decades of shared tradition. When working in duo with Roberts, Lindsay often focuses more on smallpipes, letting Roberts’s fingerstyle guitar take the harmonic lead.

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Donald’s contributions extend to teaching (including at the National Piping Centre), leadership (as a former convenor of the Lowland & Border Pipers’ Society), and editorial and collaborative work that has quietly helped shape Scotland’s evolving bellows-piping tradition. In 2026, he will release Ascension Method, the first tutor for the Lindsay System, marking ten years since the system’s first public debut.

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The result is a sound at once deeply rooted in Scottish tradition and strikingly new, engaging audiences and critics alike with its authenticity and creative vision.