Special Consensus
2012 and 2018 GRAMMY Nominee
The Special Consensus is a bluegrass band that has achieved a contemporary sound in their four decades of performing, making their music a modern classic. The band is led by Greg Cahill, banjo player and recipient of the prestigious Distinguished Achievement Award from the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) and inducted into the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America Hall of Greats, and includes Dan Eubanks (bass), Greg Blake (guitar) and Michael Prewitt (mandolin).
Special Consensus has received eight awards from the IBMA and two Grammy nominations (Scratch Gravel Road in 2012 and Rivers and Roads in 2018).
They are four talented vocalists and instrumentalists who follow their creative desires without straying too far from their bluegrass roots. The 19th band recording, Rivers and Roads (Compass Records, 2018), was nominated for the 2018 Best Bluegrass Album GRAMMY award and received 2018 IBMA awards for Album of the Year and Instrumental Recorded Performance of the Year (for the tune “Squirrel Hunters”).
Chicago Barn Dance (Compass Records, 2020) is the 20th Special C recording that celebrates both the 45th band anniversary and the long-standing connection of country and bluegrass music with Chicago from the time of the WLS “National Barn Dance” that was a precursor to the Grand Ole Opry. The title song “Chicago Barn Dance” received the 2020 IBMA Song of the Year award.
Great Blue North (Compass Records, 2023), the 21st Special C recording, is a tip of the hat to our Canadian friends and fans made throughout nearly four decades of touring throughout the country. All songs included on the recording were written by Canadian writers and numerous Canadian musician friends of the band made guest appearances. The Gordon Lightfoot song “Alberta Bound” received the2023 IBMA Collaborative Recording of the Year award and the “Alberta Bound” video received the first-ever 2024 IBMA Video of the Year award..
We are so very proud of our guitar player Greg Blake, who received the 2023 IBMA Male Vocalist of the Year award!
Booking Contact: Hope River Entertainment, Penni McDaniel, penni@hoperiverentertainment.com, 770-367-1480
Band Contact: Greg Cahill greg@specialc.com, 708-606-1554
“Carolina in the Pines” performed at The Floyd Country Store on March 11, 2023
“Travelin' Shoes” performed at The Floyd Country Store on March 11, 2023
ASSOCIATED PRESS – May 2020
"Credit producer Alison Brown for inventive arrangements that showcase each band member, and such guests as singer-songwriter Robbie Fulks and fiddler Michael Cleveland also contribute, sounding happy to join the dance.”
NO DEPRESSION Review – May 2020
"'Chicago Barn Dance' showcases Special C’s rolling and rollicking way of making songs their own. Inventive, innovative, improvisational, Special Consensus’ versions of these songs blow out the candles on the band’s celebration in a fitting way, and almost every song on the album invites us to jump up and dance.”
BLUEGRASS TODAY – March 2020
"It’s a lively number that should find a welcome reception from bluegrass radio."
RIVERS AND ROADS Bluegrass Unlimited review – April 2019
“The press material accompanying the latest CD from Special Consensus proclaims that the band has ‘never sounded better’ in its 40-year career. After a good listen, it’s awfully hard to argue with that assertion. Rivers And Roads, produced by Alison Brown, is top-notch from start to finish.”
LONG I RIDE Banjo Newsletter review by Tom Adams – January 2017
“Long I Ride continues Special C’s streak of award-winning music on Compass Records…When you see Special Consensus in person, you get an energetic, entertaining set of music – and that’s just what you get on this disc – the music superbly sung and played by banjoist/founder Greg Cahill, guitarist (and guitar maker) Rick Faris, bassist Dan Eubanks, and mandolinist Nick Dumas…Whether you’re listening to this CD for pleasure as you’re driving down the road or you’re at home running it through the “Amazing Slowdowner” working to decipher some of Greg’s banjo licks, Long I Ride, like Special C’s Grammy-nominated Scratch Gravel Road, has a first-rate song selection, strong vocals, and a distinct band sound. Recommended, for sure.”
LONG I RIDE Bluegrass Unlimited review – December 2016
“If you want to know how Special Consensus has managed to stay in business for 40 years, all you have to do is pick up a copy of Long I Ride…This album is fresh and new and stands to potentially make as many new fans as it does please those who have followed the group since its inception in 1975…It would have been easy for Special C to coast after the outstanding previous effort, Country Boy: A Bluegrass Tribute To John Denver, but founder/banjoist Greg Cahill and the current iteration of Rick Faris (guitar/vocals), Nick Dumas (mandolin/vocals), Dan Eubanks (bass/vocals) kill on this CD. Don’t miss this album.”
“Chicago’s very own veteran bluegrass band” David Royko; Chicago Tribune
“Yes, Special Consensus may be Chicago’s very own veteran bluegrass band, but talent like this is the property of the world.”
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