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Special Consensus mandolinist Ashby Frank has agreed to send us updates and photos from their current tour of Britain and Ireland. Ashby is unsure how much web access he will have during the tour, but promises to send his musings whenever he has the chance. Hello from 6 hours ahead! In a period of 48 [...]
Special Consensus is leaving today for a three week tour of Britain and Ireland, with shows scheduled in Ireland, England and Scotland. Special C mandolinist Ashby Frank has agreed to send us updates and photos from the tour as best he can, and we'll post them here as we get them. Ashby is unsure how [...]
Pinecastle Records has put together a DVD compilation from their many hours of live video footage, which they have released as Bluegrass Jamboree. The 60 minute DVD contains live performances from some of the top names on the label, including The Osborne Brothers, Reno & Smiley, Jim & Jesse, Larry Stephenson, Chubby Wise, Special Consensus [...]
It's not often that we see much in the way of televised bluegrass programming, much less broadcast in High Definition. If you live in central Ohio, and don't mind staying up late on Saturday evenings, you'll be able to catch some High Definition Bluegrass for the next two weeks. WOSU TV is celebrating the 30th [...]
We heard this morning from Ashby Frank, mandolinist with Special Consensus, with some further details about the band's next release. He says that they have only recently finished recording (at Brent Truitt's studio in Nashville) with guest appearances by Tim Crouch on fiddle, Randy Kohrs on resophonic guitar and Sonya Isaacs on harmony vocals. Special [...]
Word had reached us about a banjo player being featured in a number of recent episodes of The Jerry Springer Show - the notorious "reality TV" show based in Chicago. The banjo picking was intended not as a performance, but to add a flavor to a hillbilly-themed episode. When we further learned that the banjo [...]
Who says you can't go home again? Special Consensus mandolinist Ashby Frank is profiled in his hometown paper, The Lexington Dispatch, in Davidson County, NC. Ashby was raised in nearby Tyro, and is given the hero's welcome in the this lengthy piece to mark his return to the Doyle Lawson festival in Denton next weekend. [...]
Tonight is a special night for Greg Cahill and the guys in Special Consensus. When they perform tonight at The Livery in Benton Harbor, MI they will not only throw down some solid bluegrass for the listening audience, they'll also be throwing down a few of the venue's newest offerings. The Livery is both a [...]
Ashby Frank is a talented musician who, despite his youth, has already been a part of several notable ensembles. At 24 years old, Ashby - who is the current mandolinist with Special Consensus - has toured with Marty Raybon, Alecia Nugent and Ronnie Bowman. He lives in Nashville, which necessitates a lot of travel since [...]
We heard yesterday from Greg Cahill, banjo player and road manager with the well-traveled Special Consensus - and in his spare time, President and Chair of the IBMA Board of Directors. Greg has long been out in front when it comes to getting bluegrass music before audiences of young people, and school performances are a [...]
