News + Notes

Change is in the air for the band as our great friend and longtime booking person Maria Nadauld has decided to retire. We have had a wonderful 11 year working relationship and we thank Maria profusely for all the great work she did for us to keep us in business for the past 11 years.
We welcome Penni McDaniel of Hope River Entertainment - she is our friend and a highly respected publicist and booking person who has been in the business of booking bands for many years. We are very happy to be on the Hope River roster and look forward to working with Penni.

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Our Alberta Bound video won the firs-ever IBMA Video of the Year award! We actually tied for the honor with Authentic Unlimited and we are all very happy to have receive this award. We thank all of our Canadian friends who appeared on the video with us - it truly was an international effort.

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We have twin #1 chart toppers! Our May 2023 Great Blue North release (Compass Records) is #1 on the March 2024 Bluegrass Unlimited Top 15 Bluegrass Albums chart for the fifth consecutive month.

The song Alberta Bound on this recording won the 2023 IBMA Collaborative Event of the Year Award, has been steadily climbing and is #1 on the March 2024 Bluegrass Unlimited Top 30 Bluegrass Songs chart. The Bluegrass Unlimited periodical is now produced by the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Bluegrass Museum.

Special C albums and songs have reached the #1 positions on these charts in previous years but never has an album and a song from that album reached #1 on both charts simultaneously. We greatly appreciate all the DJs who play our music and our fans who always support us!

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What a wonderful 2023 IBMA World of Bluegrass event it was for Special C! Alberta Bound from our 2023 Compass Records release Great Blue North won the Collaborative Recording of the Year Award and our esteemed lead singer/guitar player Greg Blake won the Male Vocalist of the Year Award. We were genuinely honored, very surprised and thankful to have this support from the bluegrass community. Special thanks to our phenomenal producer Alison Brown, to our Compass Records team/family, to all the DJs who play our music and to all our friends/fans who support and vote for us! We must also thank our booking person Maria Nadauld for keeping us working and our families for always supporting us throughout our musical journey.

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We were very happy to welcome Brian McCarty to the band in October 2024. He is a fabulous mandolin player and a great singer, able to add lead and tenor vocals to the Special C sound. Brian resides in Kansas City, MO and we look forward to touring and recording with this great musician!

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While Rick’s leaving is bittersweet, we feel extremely fortunate that our good friend and fabulous singer and guitar player Greg Blake is joining us for the next chapter of the Special C journey. Greg is very well known in the world of bluegrass music, having played with several midwestern bands, his Greg Blake Band and, most recently, with Jeff Scroggins and Colorado. He has a new recording about to be released on the Turnberry Records label and Dan, Nate and I are very much looking forward to touring and recording with Greg as we begin to emerge from the pandemic. Greg will begin appearing with us at our next scheduled performances in Florida in April.

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We were honored and very pleasantly surprised to receive the 2020 IBMA Song of the Year Award for Chicago Barn Dance, the title song from our 2020 Compass Records release. Thanks to Becky Buller, Missy Raines and Alison Brown for composing such a great song, thanks to our superb producer and friend Alison Brown for always raising the bar for us, thanks to the Compass Records team/family for working so hard for all their artists, thanks to the IBMA for working so hard to keep us connected even in these difficult times, thanks to our booking person Maria Nadauld for keeping us touring and thanks to our wonderful families and fans/friends for always supporting Special C throughout our journey and for giving us the voter support that has enabled us to receive IBMA awards. Sincerest thanks - we could not do this without all of you!

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Greg will be the 2020 inductee into the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America (SPBGMA) Preservation Hall of Greats on February 2, 2020 at the Sheraton Music City Hotel Nashville Tennessee.  He is also nominated for the SPBGMA Banjo Player of the Year award. Greg says he is humbled to be so honored with the prestigious induction and to be included on the nominee list with such superb banjo players.

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