Sunday, November 5, 2023 · 7:00 PM CST
Alison Brown / Special Consensus
4544 N Lincoln Ave · Gary and Laura Maurer Concert Hall · 773.728.6000
Sunday, November 5, 2023 · 7:00 PM CST
4544 N Lincoln Ave · Gary and Laura Maurer Concert Hall · 773.728.6000
One of the most multi-faceted minds in roots music, Alison Brown is a GRAMMY-winning musician, GRAMMY-nominated producer, former investment banker (with an AB from Harvard and an MBA from UCLA), and co-founder of The Compass Records Group which is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2023.
Although Alison began her musical career as a teenager in the Southern California bluegrass scene, she has built a reputation as one of today's most forward thinking and innovative banjo players. She is known for taking the instrument far beyond its Appalachian roots by blending bluegrass and jazz influences into a sonic tapestry that has earned praise and recognition from a variety of national tastemakers including The Wall Street Journal, CBS Sunday Morning, NPR, and USA Today.
On her new release, aptly titled On Banjo, Alison continues her musical explorations on a set of original compositions that explore the range of the banjo. The album features an eclectic cast of collaborators including Steve Martin, Kronos Quartet, Sharon Isbin, Anat Cohen, Sierra Hull, Stuart Duncan and members of the Alison Brown Quintet.
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).
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”).
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 an IBMA nomination for the 2023 Collaborative Recording of the Year.
Special thanks to event sponsors
Anonymous
James G. Hart Foundation
Geraldine Keefe
Negaunee Foundation
Rob and Karen Ospalik
Tomford and Grossman Family