He was raised in Kilmahog, a hamlet close to the small town of Callander, near Stirling in central Scotland, where he started playing the guitar and writing music.

[1][2] In 1994 Alasdair Roberts formed Appendix Out with school friends Dave Elcock and Kenny McBride and started playing small venues.

While attending a Will Oldham concert in 1995, he offered a demo tape to the American singer, and a contract with US label Drag City soon followed.

This album consisted almost entirely of solo vocals and guitar in marked contrast to the occasionally experimental sound of the Appendix Out records.

A fourth, A Wonder Working Stone, was released in January 2013, credited to Alasdair Roberts and Friends, a group of musicians which includes among others Stevie Jones, Rafe Fitzpatrick, Olivia Chaney and Alex Neilson.