Special Consensus

Our New Year Kick Off Concert is with Special Consensus. Formed in the Chicago area in 1975, The Special Consensus is a four-person acoustic bluegrass band with a repertoire that features traditional bluegrass standards, original compositions by band members and professional songwriters, and songs from other musical genres performed in the bluegrass format.

The band has released 18 recordings and has appeared on numerous National Public Radio programs and cable television shows. International tours have brought the band to Australia, Canada, Europe, South America, Ireland and the United Kingdom. Band leader/banjo player Greg Cahill is the former President/Board Chair of the Nashville-based International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA), the former Board Chair of the Nashville-based Foundation for Bluegrass Music and a recipient of the prestigious IBMA Distinguished Achievement Award (in 2011). Other band members include guitar player Rick Faris, bass player Dan Eubanks and mandolin player Nick Dumas.

The 2012 band release Scratch Gravel Road (Compass Records) was GRAMMY nominated for Best Bluegrass Album and two songs from the 2014 band release Country Boy: A Bluegrass Tribute To John Denver (Compass Records) won IBMA awards for Recorded Event of the Year and Instrumental Recorded Performance of the Year. The tune “Fireball” (featuring special guests Rob Ickes, Trey Hensley and Alison Brown) on the 2016 Compass Records band recording Long I Ride won the 2016 IBMA Instrumental Recorded Performance of the Year Award.