Trad bluegrass band Special Consensus has performed at the world famous Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, and they’ve been nominated for a GRAMMY twice. They perform at Boulevard Music on January 20, and founding member Greg Cahill told the News about what they have in store for Culver City…
When did you start playing and performing?
I dabbled with the banjo in college, playing folk music. Picked it up seriously around 1970 and co-founded The Special Consensus in Chicago in 1973, playing locally. In 1975, the bass player and I decided to try to play full time and begin touring and recording so we changed personnel and consider 1975 the beginning of the band as a full-time touring and eventually recording bluegrass band. The band is now called Special Consensus and current band members in addition to myself on banjo are Dan Eubanks on bass, Greg Blake on guitar (2024 International Bluegrass Music Association Male Vocalist of the Year) and Michael Prewitt on mandolin.
Describe your sound/style?
We consider the band to be a traditional leaning bluegrass band but also with material from other genres (especially swing and gospel) performed in the bluegrass format. We choose and write material that relates more to current times but with great respect for the traditional sound.
What are your career highlights so far?
We have played many major festivals nationally and internationally and we complete a bi-annual tour of Ireland and the UK (since the mid 1990s). We have played the Grand Ole Opry and two of our 21 band recordings are GRAMMY nominated.
What recorded music is available — particularly the most recent?
We have released 21 recordings, the seven most recent on the Nashville-based Compass Records label. In addition to two GRAMMY nominations (2012 and 2018), we have received seven International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) awards for our recordings. The 2020 Chicago Barn Dance recording was a tip of our hat to Chicago, where the band formed, and the title song received the IBMA Song of the Year Award. All songs on the CD are written about Chicago or by writers who have lived there. Our May 2023 release Great Blue North is a tip of the hat to our Canadian friends and festivals and features many Canadian artists on some of the songs, all written by Canadian writers. Great Blue North has been #1 on the National Bluegrass Survey chart from the Bluegrass Unlimited periodical for November and December and two songs from the recording are climbing the Top 30 Bluegrass Songs chart (Alberta Bound at #8 and Snowbird at #15). Many of our previous releases are also available on our website at www.specialc.com.
Have you performed at Cinema Bar before? Any memories?
We have played at Boulevard Music many times over the years and we find the audiences very enthusiastic and appreciative. We love playing there!
What can the audience expect from the set this time?
We will feature many songs from the two most recent recordings mentioned above as well as fan favorites and selections that received heavy radio airplay, good reviews and frequent requests from previous recordings.
What else do you have coming up?
This California tour includes shows in Tomales, Fiddletown, Monterey, Willits, Folsom, Petaluma, Huntington Beach, La Jolla and the final concert at Boulevard Music on January 20. On the 21st, we fly to Orlando and depart then next day on a bluegrass cruise from Cape Canaveral to the Bahamas, returning on the 26th. We then drive to North Miami on January 26 to play at the Everglades Bluegrass Festival on the 27th. We all fly home on January 28th for some R&R and then head to Boston in February and many more places throughout the rest of the year. Our complete tour schedule is included on our website at www.specialc.com.
Special Consensus performs at 8 p.m. on Saturday, January 20 at Boulevard Music Go to boulevardmusic.com for more information about the show.
Elsewhere this week
The Culver Hotel will be hosting the likes of Sylvia & the Rhythm Boys, and Scotty Bramer. Go to culverhotel.com for more info.
There’s a full program of music at the Cinema Bar this week, as usual. The Hot Club of Los Angeles plays every Monday, and Wednesdays are singer/songwriter and open mic night. Other artists performing this week include the Juke Joint Dogs, Waldo Bliss, and Bruce Ray White. Go to thecinemabar.com for more info.