Greg Cahill is the banjo player and founder of the Special Consensus, a Chicago bluegrass band he started in 1975 and has led ever since. He is the only constant member across 50 years and dozens of lineup changes. The band has won several IBMA awards, including Album of the Year for Rivers and Roads in 2018, and earned two Grammy nominations. Cahill served as president and board chair of the IBMA from 2006.
Why Cahill matters
Cahill built a full-time bluegrass band in Chicago, far from the music’s southern home, and kept it touring for five decades. He has also been a teacher and a builder of the music’s institutions. He chaired the IBMA’s Bluegrass in the Schools committee before leading the board. And one of his students was a teenage Noam Pikelny.
Life and career
Cahill grew up in Chicago and played accordion at eight. In the 1960s he heard Flatt and Scruggs and fell for the banjo. He earned a master’s degree in social work. In 1973, as a graduate student, he jammed at the University of Chicago Folk Festival. In 1975 he and bassist Marc Edelstein formed Special Consensus, named for an idea in the books of Carlos Castaneda. He has played banjo full time since then.
The band recorded for Turquoise and then Pinecastle through the 1990s and 2000s, with albums like Strong Enough to Bend (1996) and 25th Anniversary (2000). Cahill also recorded with mandolinist Don Stiernberg in the 1990s and played banjo on TV commercials. In 2006 he became president and chairman of the IBMA board. Later the band moved to Compass Records, with producer Alison Brown. Scratch Gravel Road (2012) and Rivers and Roads (2018) earned Grammy nominations, and Rivers and Roads won IBMA Album of the Year. The title song of Chicago Barn Dance (2020) won IBMA Song of the Year. Great Blue North came out in 2023.
Playing style
Cahill plays Scruggs-based banjo. In his lessons he shows favorite licks and how he plays Salt Creek.
Influences and legacy
Cahill learned from Flatt and Scruggs records. Special Consensus has had dozens of members over the years, and the band has been part of the IBMA’s Bluegrass in the Schools program. His student Noam Pikelny went on to win two IBMA banjo awards.
Signature tunes and songs
Salt Creek Chicago Barn Dance Travelin’ Shoes.
Essential recordings
Strong Enough to Bend, Special Consensus (Pinecastle, 1996) Scratch Gravel Road, Special Consensus (Compass, 2012) Rivers and Roads, Special Consensus (Compass, 2018) Chicago Barn Dance, Special Consensus (Compass, 2020)
Awards and honors
IBMA Instrumental Recorded Performance of the Year, Thank God I’m a Country Boy (2014) IBMA Recorded Event of the Year, Wild Montana Skies (2014) IBMA Instrumental Recorded Performance of the Year, Fireball (2016) IBMA Album of the Year, Rivers and Roads (2018) IBMA Instrumental Recorded Performance of the Year, Squirrel Hunters (2018) IBMA Song of the Year, Chicago Barn Dance (2020) IBMA Collaborative Recording of the Year, Alberta Bound (2023)
Watch and listen
Cahill shows three of his favorite banjo licks.
Here he plays Salt Creek.
What to learn from Cahill
Learn Salt Creek with Cahill’s video. The technique to steal is band thinking. Cahill has kept a band going for 50 years. Listen to what the singer and the other pickers need, and play less when they are leading.
Sources
The Special Consensus, Wikipedia Special Consensus, BluegrassBios.com
Related players
See the banjo players hub and the bluegrass banjo guide for more pickers. Cahill taught Noam Pikelny, and Alison Brown has produced his band’s records.