By ANDREW MENTOCK
Special to the Star

This weekend one of the most popular bluegrass bands in the country will be playing a free concert in Niles.

Special Consensus has been touring all over the world for more than 30 years, they will perform at this week’s Nilesgrass Sunday in the Park concert at the Niles Riverfront Amphitheater at 7 p.m.

“We have a nice following in Niles since the people get to see us every year,” said Greg Cahill, one of the founding members of Special Consensus and its only remaining original member. “That’s the cool thing about bluegrass music; it’s like a big extended family.”
Cahill and Special Consensus have been playing concerts in Niles for more than a decade.

They have appeared in the Niles Bluegrass Festival and the Nilesgrass Sunday in the Park concert series.

Nilesgrass Sunday in the Park is a free weekly summer concert series that has been a feature of Niles’ downtown riverfront since 1999. Each week, the concert will feature a band that plays Americana music, which is defined by the American Music Association as “music that honors and is derived from the traditions of American roots music,” and it usually has a bluegrass and acoustic feel.

Niles DDA Main Street is sponsoring the Nilesgrass Sunday in the Park concert series.

Patrons attending Special Consensus’ concert Sunday can arrive early to catch local folk singer Ryan Adams, who will be appearing at 6 p.m.