New album from the Special C.

Alison Brown's Compass Records label has released Chicago Barn Dance, the latest album from our friends and regular visitors the Special Consensus. Their last album on Compass, Rivers and roads, won two IBMA awards.

The band, which celebrates 45 years of continuous full-time existence this year, is based in Chicago, hometown of its founder Greg Cahill. The title track celebrates the National Barn Dance country music show, broadcast on WLS radio from Chicago before there was ever such a thing as the Grand Ole Opry on WSM in Nashville.

You can hear the song 'Chicago Barn Dance' on YouTube and on John Lawless's feature on Bluegrass Today. It's a fine song, written by Becky Buller, Missy Raines, and Alison Brown, and the band (assisted by Becky Buller and Michael Cleveland on twin fiddles) do a fine job on it. At the time of writing, the album is not on the Special C.'s online store, but you should go there in any case to see the photo* of the band with the lineup they had on their last visit to Ireland, since when Nate Burie has replaced Nick Dumas on mandolin.

*Update 27 Apr.: Unfortunately (but understandably in the process of updating) this photo is no longer on the Special C.'s online store; but the new album is.