Concert in the Park: The Special Consensus

Two-time Grammy-nominated bluegrass band The Special Consensus performs at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 30 at the Steele Memorial Bandstand.

The group has been entertaining crowds with their contemporary sound for more than four decades.

Band leader and founder Greg Cahill is a recipient of the International Bluegrass Music Association’s (IBMA) Distinguished Achievement Award and was inducted into the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America’s Hall of Greats.

Overall, The Special Consensus has earned seven IBMA Awards and two Grammy nominations.

Bandmembers Cahill (banjo), Greg Blake (guitar and 2023 IBMA Male Vocalist of the Year), Dan Eubanks (bass) and Michael Prewitt (mandolin) maintain their bluegrass center.

In 2018, Rivers and Roads was nominated for a Grammy and was awarded IBMA Album of the Year. “Squirrel Hunters” from that recording received the Instrumental Recorded Performance of the Year Award.

The band records for Compass Records and proudly celebrated its 45th Anniversary in 2020 with the release of Chicago Barn Dance. The title song, “Chicago Barn Dance,” received the 2020 IBMA Song of the Year Award.

Great Blue North, the 21st Special C recording, was released in May of 2023. The Gordon Lightfoot song “Alberta Bound” received the 2023 IBMA Collaborative Recording of the Year Award.