Rebel Records is pleased to announce the release tomorrow of Don Rigsby’s first CD project as a band leader. Don has quite a stellar resume in bluegrass, including stints with The Bluegrass Cardinals, JD Crowe & The New South, Lonesome River Band and Longview, each of which produced memorable recorded output, as well as live performances. Don recorded two duet projects with Dudley Connell and three under his own name, but never before with his own band.

The new Rebel release is Hillbilly Heartache, and features Don’s band, Midnight Call. Members include Shayne Bartley on guitar, Dale Vanderpool on banjo, Jesse Wells on fiddle & clawhammer banjo, Robert Maynard on bass and of course Don on mandolin, guitar, and lead vocals. All of the band members contribute vocally as well.

Hillbilly Heartache includes songs by Shawn Camp, Larry Shell, Tim Stafford, and Jim Lauderdale, and will be available in stores on July 18.

No audio samples are yet up on either Don’s or Rebel’s web sites, but the CD should be available soon on iTunes and other sites with audio snippets enabled.