Dan Eubanks (left) Mico Humby (right)
When you keep a band together for 50 years, as Greg Cahill has done with Special Consensus, personnel changes are part of the woodwork. But there is always a bid of sadness when you see a beloved bandmate depart after more than a decade on the job.
Such is the case as Dan Eubanks has announced that he will be leaving Special C next month after 12 years on the road with the band.
In a lengthy message to friends, fans, and his fellow members of the band, Dan shared his thinking.
“To all my many friends in the bluegrass world and beyond, I have an announcement regarding my full time status as a member of Special Consensus. My last official appearance as a band member will be November 15, 2025 at the Historic Temple Theatre in Viroqua WI.
What can I say that will be sufficient to express my gratitude to Greg Cahill, first for hiring me with no track record as a pro touring bluegrass musician, and then everything he has done in my tenure, long before, and will continue to do after I am no longer the bass player in the band, for myself and the bluegrass industry as a whole? It can’t be adequately expressed is the answer. How many miles, how many shows, seasons of life can be added up to show it in some sort of equation, or graphic representation? More than I can count in my faulty memory, but it is a lot.
I do know it’s been since March of 2013, and six full length releases with Compass Records, including the latest which celebrates fifty years of the band! There has been material and spiritual reward, creative and professional goals met, friendships forged in and out of the band, the bond of brotherhood that comes with travel in a string band, challenges, difficulties, but in the end there is just overwhelming gratitude to Greg and all of my band brothers over these past twelve plus years. Add to that list of those I’m forever grateful for, and to, of course, the extended families of everyone involved, and for the chance to work with so many greats of our industry thanks to the likes of Alison Brown and Garry West of Compass Records, and all of the staff that have worked so hard on our releases during my time.
Because of all of them, I went to the Grammy’s and they let me in, walked across the IBMA Awards Show stage several times, said stupid stuff on the mic, played the event, and later (like way later, 3:00 a.m. style), was tolerated in some pretty rarified jams, and most important as far as leaving marks and such goes, we left some recorded work behind that I am fiercely proud of having been a part of.
My departure from Special C is not a rancorous situation for any of us, Greg Cahill, Greg Blake, and Brian McCarty are my brothers and I love them like family, they know this and that’s how it will remain. Like all families, members leave the household from time to time but remain in the family. That’s all this is. I’ll be pulling more of a teaching load going forward, which I need the time for, and just being available around the city I live in now, St Louis, MO, promoting and supporting my own work, and being present at home more often, less air travel, all things that are important to me at this stage of life. I will not disappear from the bluegrass world, I just won’t be a full timer in any particular group going forward.
So, it isn’t goodbye, I will be available as a sub should the band ever need it, Greg knows that I am more than willing. I also hope to go forward as a freelancer for my musical friends that may need me for live and studio work, local or further afield. I do have a record coming soon under my own name of my original music on the Common Loon label, as many of you know, which I will be looking at limited touring in support of. Private and classroom teaching, on and off campus, as well as continuing to help out as faculty at well known music camps, will also be taking more of my time, as it should.
That’s a lot of words to really just say thank you to Special C for what you all have given me, and thank you to the extended bluegrass music family we are a part of, the many fans and friends worldwide, it has been an honor to be among you all this time as a full timer, I will see you all soon I hope in whatever format the fates have in store.”
Greg responded in kind, expressing his gratitude to Eubanks.
“Dan Eubanks has been a great friend, a phenomenal musician, a total team player, a brother to all of us, and a wonderful human being. That is why it is so bittersweet that he will be saying goodbye to us Special C fellows after 12 years of riding the highways and byways, the friendly and not-so-friendly skies, all over the USA and many foreign lands as well. While we wish him all the very best as he launches his solo teaching and performing career, it truly will take some time to let his departure sink in.
He will play with Special C through November 15, so we encourage all the friends he has made to come out to shake his hand, hug him, or even tell a terrible joke. He appreciates the bluegrass community so much, and he is not leaving; he is retooling.
Wishing you all the very best, bro Dan!”
Of course, the show must go on, and Cahill has tapped Nico Humby to pick up the torch.
“With the departure of our longtime bass player/singer/friend/brother in bluegrass, Dan Eubanks, we are extremely fortunate to have Nico Humby, a class-A musician, join Special C in December. Currently living in Brooklyn, NY, Nico has made his presence known in and around the bluegrass scene for the last decade. He has had the honor of offering his groove and presence as a bassist and vocalist to groups like Jeff Scroggins & Colorado,the Greg Blake Band, and Jesse Brock & Streamliner.
Along with his musical talents, Nico spends his time working as an illustrator and photographer, creating merch, album cover art, and posters for bluegrass festivals and bands around the world. Nico spent his formative years living in Alberta, Canada, where he often returns to visit family, and is sure to play Special C’s version of Alberta Bound on repeat during his travels.”
Longtime fans of Special C will want to mark October 18 on their calendars, when they will present their official 50th Anniversary concert at Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music. The current band, along with former members Chris Jones, Andrea Roberts, Don Stiernberg, Justin Carbone, Rick Faris, and many others will join them on stage.
Tickets and further details can be found online.
