Greg Cahill

Born and raised in the Chicago area, Greg has been playing bluegrass banjo since the early 1970s. He co-founded The Special Consensus in Chicago and in 1975 the band began touring full-time and has continued to tour nationally and internationally ever since. In 1984, Greg created the Traditional American Music (TAM) Program to introduce students of all ages to bluegrass music. He has appeared on all 21 Special C recordings, numerous recordings by other artists, and many television and radio commercial jingles. He has also released a solo recording, two recordings with mandolin great Don Stiernberg and another made in Prague with ChowDogs, a band he toured with throughout mainland Europe.

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Greg has released four instructional DVDs and three banjo tablature books, has been an adjunct faculty member of the music department (teaching bluegrass banjo) at Columbia College in Chicago, has been a bluegrass banjo instructor at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago since 1973, and continues to teach at bluegrass and banjo camps nationally and internationally.

Greg was elected to the Nashville-based International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Board of Directors in 1998 and served on that board through 2011 (Board Chair/President 2006-2010), served on the Nashville-based Foundation for Bluegrass Music 2007-2012 (President 2011-2012), became a Kentucky Colonel in 2010 and was awarded the prestigious IBMA Distinguished Achievement Award in 2011. He also served on the Recording Academy Chicago Chapter Board of Directors 2018-2020 and was inducted into the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America (SPBGMA) Hall of Greats in 2020. Special Consensus recordings on the Nashville-based Compass Records label have received seven IBMA awards and two GRAMMY nominations.

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