new from Special C
Great Blue North
Compass Records recording Great Blue North is a tip of our hats to our Canadian friends, as we have been playing concerts and festivals in Canada for four decades. All songs on this recording were written by Canadian songwriters and the instrumental medley features traditional Canadian tunes.
Featured Band members
Greg Cahill, banjo
Dan Eubanks, bass
Greg Blake, guitar
Michael Prewitt, mandolin
Featured US and Canadian guest artist friends on the recording include John Reischman, Trisha Gagnon and Patrick Sauber (The Jaybird Trio), Claire Lynch, Darol Anger, Pharis and Jason Romero, Dale Ann Bradley, April Verch, Ray Legere, Amanda Smith, John Showman, Leonard Podolak, Rob Ickes and Alison Brown.
“Music like this is the reason people come to love bluegrass.”
Special Consensus approaches this hallowed American musical art form with boundless energy and an aesthetic reverence that tickles the ribs, tugs at the heart, and puts a restless two-step into boots and bare feet.
“Special Consensus is a superb bluegrass outfit in a classic vein…the vocals are spotless, the playing as shiny as a newly minted penny, and music like this is the reason people come to love bluegrass.” — Folk & Music Exchange
“One of the longest-running and best-respected outfits in bluegrass history.” — Chicago Reader
“Alberta Bound” from the album GREAT BLUE NORTH (Compass Records, 2023)
“Pretty Kate and the Rabbit” from the album GREAT BLUE NORTH (Compass Records, 2023)
“She Took the Tennessee River” featuring Bobby Osborne, Becky Buller and Josh Williams, from the album RIVERS AND ROADS (Compass Records, 2018), IBMA Album of the Year and GRAMMY nominee for Best Bluegrass Album
“Carolina in the Pines” at The Floyd Country Store on March 11, 2023
“My Kind of Town" by Special Consensus Featuring Mike Barnett, Alison Brown and Pat McAvinue from the Special Consensus album CHICAGO BARN DANCE (Compass Records, 2020).
“Travelin' Shoes” at The Floyd Country Store on March 11, 2023
The Band
greg@specialc.com
708-606-1554
Publicity
Compass Records
615-320-7672
Bookings
Hope River Entertainment
Penni McDaniel
770-367-1480
penni@hoperiverentertainment.com
SPECIAL C ON THE ROAD
Special Consensus with special guests Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley, and producer/banjoist Alison Brown, deliver a blistering version of the Josh Graves penned standard "Fireball," 2016 IBMA Instrumental Recorded Performance of the Year, from the record Long I Ride.
Quality people and products
We love the global bluegrass community and couldn’t do what we do without them. Special Consensus stands firmly behind the brands listed below. Please do not hesitate to reach out and ask us about our experiences with these quality brands.
The Traditional American Music (TAM) Program
The Special Consensus tours year-round nationally and internationally. In 1984, the band created the Traditional American Music (TAM) Program to introduce students of all ages (and teachers) to bluegrass music, our own truly American born form of traditional music.
The Special Consensus has presented the TAM Program in hundreds of schools throughout the United States, Canada, Ireland, Scotland and South America since developing the program. The presentation is adapted to reach all age groups, from pre-school and kindergarten to middle school, junior high, high school and college level students. Instrumental and vocal workshops are also available for music class and festival programs.
A study guide is available for downloading from this site for use by teachers in the classroom prior to the in-school presentation.
Band leader Greg Cahill is a former chairperson of the Bluegrass In The Schools Committee of the Nashville, Tennessee based International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) and the TAM Program of The Special Consensus has become a model program for bluegrass artists and bands interested in developing an in-school presentation. A video production of a TAM Program presentation, sponsored by the Northern Indiana Bluegrass Association, was offered to bands and schools by the IBMA but was eventually replaced with the IBMA Discover Bluegrass DVD (produced by Greg Cahill and Nancy Cardwell) that includes demonstration of the bluegrass instruments by The Special Consensus.
Get in Touch
Contact Penni McDaniel for further information on pricing and availability:
Hope River Entertainment
Penni McDaniel
770-367-1480
penni@hoperiverentertainment.com
Discount rates are available for back-to-back performances at the same location in a single half day, and we can provide assistance with block booking at schools in the same region.
Arts Council Grants available for Special Consensus’ performance. Illinois Arts Council, Artstour program:
Illinois Arts Council (Artstour Program)
312-814-6750
100 W Randolph, Suite 10-500
Chicago, IL 60601
