Before their days of Grammy-nominated releases for Rounder, Blue Highway released a trio of critically-acclaimed recordings for Rebel Records in the mid-to-late 1990s. Tim Stafford has related how the band was formed after his departure from Alison Krauss & Union Station, with no intentions of becoming a full-time touring act. Their first release, It’s a Long, Long Road in 1995 was produced somewhat hastily by the band’s current standards, but has been an enduring album with songs still performed by the band at shows, and others firmly ensconced within the jam session cannon.

The success of that first recording spurred the interest in another, and that release was followed by two more Rebel projects, Wind to the West in 1996 and Midnight Storm in 1998. Blue Highway joined Ricky Skaggs’ then new Ceili Music label for their 1996 self-titled CD, and from there moved to Rounder with whom they remain affiliated.

Rebel will release a Blue Highway compilation CD later this month, entitled Lonesome Pine (REB-7512), with tracks taken from those first three Rebel projects. The compilation will be a part of Rebel’s Vault Masters series with an expected release date of April 25. We’ll post again with more details as we obtain them.