The Special Consensus, a well-known bluegrass band, will perform at the high school auditorium as part of the kickoff for a year long celebration of Traditional American Music. This program has been put together by the Boundary County School District band program. More on that program a little later in this story.
So who is The Special Consensus? They are a band traveling to Boundary County
that
you won't want to miss if you enjoy Bluegrass
Music, or if you just appreciate the opportunity
to broaden your musical experience just a
little.The Special Consensus 2012 album Scratch Gravel Road was nominated for a Grammy Award for the Best Bluegrass Album of the Year. But they didn't stop there--their newest album, Country Boy: A Bluegrass Tribute to John Denver, just received three 2014 award nominations from the International Bluegrass Music Association, including a nomination for Best Recorded Event of the Year, and a nomination for Best Instrumental of the Year. These guys have got to be good!
Here's some of what they're saying about this band:
"Talent like this is the property of the world."
--David Royko, Chicago Tribune
"This project is marked by a consistent excellence beginning to end. To miss it is to miss one of the best, if not the best release of the year."
--Bluegrass Unlimited (reviewing Special Consensus 2012 album Scratch Gravel Road).
The opening act for The Special Consensus is a Spokane-based bluegrass band, Devin Pace and the Early Edition. This group is happy playing as the opening
act,
just so they could meet and play for The Special
Consensus.How did this burst of bluegrass end up coming to Bonners Ferry? This is the first installment of a special music curriculum for the Band Program of our local school district. This program is a partnership between the school district, led by school band director Jessica Hanna (working with community volunteer Barbara Castellan), the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho, the Boundary County Library, and several hard-working students and parents.
This collaborative team has put together what they are calling "a year of Traditional American Music." Throughout the year, four different Traditional American Music artist groups will come to Boundary County. Along with performing a public concert, these various groups will present workshops and dialogues with middle school and high school band students, and interact directly and personally with our students.
The upcoming visit from The Special Consensus is the first of the performers visiting our community as part of this program.
Future Traditional American Music groups coming to our area will include Native American music, Gospel / Spiritual Music, and Jazz.
With educational funding stretched so thin these days, it is hoped this project will bring high quality curriculum and needed financial resources to support the music education of our Boundary County youth. As an added bonus, the community will have the opportunity to experience the artistry of these talented visiting musicians, while at the same time supporting the project with their ticket purchases.
Plan on spending an evening immersed in bluegrass (you'll love the banjo playing of Special Consensus' Greg Cahill, recently named as an adjunct professor of banjo by Columbia College in Chicago, a highly regarded arts learning institution).
The concert is scheduled for Tuesday, September 23, at 7:00 p.m., at the Bonners Ferry High School auditorium.
Tickets are available at Bonners Books, Mountain Mike's, or online at www.brownpapertickets.com
Ticket prices are Tier 1 $20, Tier 2 $15, Tier 3 $10.