The Special Consensus: 50th Anniversary Tour

The Special Consensus: 50th Anniversary Tour

The Black Box

Wednesday 22 January, 1.00pm & 8.00pm

1.00pm: £12.00 (including Lunch)

8.00pm: £15.00/£12.00 (Unwaged)

Buy Tickets

Chicago-based bluegrass outfit Special Consensus has covered a lot of musical territory in the half a century since banjoist Greg Cahill founded the band in 1975.

Two-time GRAMMY nominees and six-time International Bluegrass Music Association winners, the group has amassed an expansive discography of over 20 releases including 2020’s CHICAGO BARN DANCE which highlighted the important role the Windy City played in the early development of bluegrass music.

With their latest release GREAT BLUE NORTH, Special Consensus turns their gaze northward, across the great lakes, to Canada. The album offers a thoughtfully curated collection of well-known and obscure songs from Canadian writers and features collaborations with some Canada’s most notable bluegrass and folk musicians.

Taken as a whole, GREAT BLUE NORTH expands Special Consensus’s musical footprint, furthering their legacy as Chicago’s premiere bluegrass ambassadors and establishing them as torchbearers for the international reach of bluegrass music. Cahill adds:  We hope the international bluegrass community will enjoy the new music and join us in celebrating the fact that bluegrass music truly has no borders!”

GREAT BLUE NORTH is the 21st Special Consensus recording. The Gordon Lightfoot song from the album “Alberta Bound” received the 2023 IBMA Collaborative Recording of the Year Award and the accompanying video won the IBMA Music Video Of The Year Award in September 2024.

Special Consensus have been coming to Ireland biennially since the mid ‘90’s and have established an extensive legion of fans over the years. Always a special Out to Lunch show.

Tickets also available from:
Visit Belfast | 028 9024 6609
9 Donegall Square North - Open 7 days a Week

All Out To Lunch 2025 Shows

Artist in Residence – Noel Watson

Artist in Residence – Noel Watson

The Black Box (Green Room)

Saturday 4, 11, 18 & 25 January, 7.00pm

Historic Pubs of the Cathedral Quarter

Historic Pubs of the Cathedral Quarter

Leaves Kellys Cellars

Sunday 5 , 12, 19 and 26 January, 2.00pm

Stuart Murdoch – Nobody’s Empire: A Novel

Stuart Murdoch – Nobody’s Empire: A Novel

The Black Box

Sunday 5 January, 2.00pm

Niall McKenna: In Conversation with Kathy Clugston

Niall McKenna: In Conversation with Kathy Clugston

The Black Box

Wednesday 8 January, 1.00pm

Women In Revolt! Talk with the exhibitions curator,  Linsey Young

Women In Revolt! Talk with the exhibitions curator,  Linsey Young

Ulster University, Lecture Theatre 2, Block BC, York Street, Belfast.

Thursday 9 January, 6.00pm

Pauline Black: A 2-Tone Story + Boss Sound DJ Set

Pauline Black: A 2-Tone Story + Boss Sound DJ Set

The Black Box

Friday 10 January, 7.30pm 

Celebrating 40 Years of Raindogs

Celebrating 40 Years of Raindogs

The Oh Yeah Music Centre

Friday 10 January, 7.30pm

The White Horse Guitar Club

The White Horse Guitar Club

The Black Box

Saturday 11 January, 2.00pm

Celebrating 40 Years of Raindogs

Celebrating 40 Years of Raindogs

The Oh Yeah Music Centre

Saturday 11 January, 7.30pm

The Zac Schulze Gang

In association with Belfast City Blues Festival

The Zac Schulze Gang

The Deer's Head

Saturday 11 January, 2.00pm & 8.00pm

The Ennio Morricone Experience

The Ennio Morricone Experience

The Black Box

Saturday 11 January, 8.00pm

Ulster Orchestra at Out to Lunch

Ulster Orchestra at Out to Lunch

The Black Box

Tuesday 14 January, 1.00pm

Neil Martin: Bothar an Cheoil + Q&A

Neil Martin: Bothar an Cheoil + Q&A

Queen's Film Theatre

Tuesday 14 January, 6.30pm

Tenx9: Moving

Tenx9: Moving

The Black Box

Wednesday 15 January, 7.30pm

Ursula Burns: The Secret Melodies of Trees Album Launch

Ursula Burns: The Secret Melodies of Trees Album Launch

The Black Box

Thursday 16 January, 1.00pm

Josie Long: A Work in Progress About Giant Extinct Animals

Josie Long: A Work in Progress About Giant Extinct Animals

The Black Box

Thursday 16 January, 8.00pm

Katharine Timoney – Extra show added

Katharine Timoney – Extra show added

The Black Box

Friday 17 January, 1.00pm and 8.00pm

Lights, Camera, Belfast!

Lights, Camera, Belfast!

Meet at the Leonardo Hotel, Great Victoria St, Belfast BT1 6DY

Sunday 19 and 26 January, 11.30am - 1.30pm (approx) 

Launch of The Memorisers by Jo Eliot (AKA Rosemary Jenkinson)

Launch of The Memorisers by Jo Eliot (AKA Rosemary Jenkinson)

The Black Box (Green Room)

Sunday 19 January, 2.00pm

The Special Consensus: 50th Anniversary Tour

The Special Consensus: 50th Anniversary Tour

The Black Box

Wednesday 22 January, 1.00pm & 8.00pm

A Bob Dylan Brunch (with Tony Villiers)

A Bob Dylan Brunch (with Tony Villiers)

The Black Box

Thursday 23 January, 1.00pm

Ed Hall and Craig Oldham In Conversation

Ed Hall and Craig Oldham In Conversation

Ulster University, Lecture Theatre 2, Block BC, York Street, Belfast

Thursday 23 January, 6.00pm

Tim O’Brien & Jan Fabricius with Dermot Byrne and Seamie O’Dowd

In association with Old Flat Top

Tim O’Brien & Jan Fabricius with Dermot Byrne and Seamie O’Dowd

The Black Box

Thursday 23 January, 8.00pm

Emily Barker with Special Guest Liz Stringer

Emily Barker with Special Guest Liz Stringer

The Deer’s Head

Thursday 23 January, 8.00pm

Craig Oldham: The Tools of Protest – A Talk on Visual Dissent

Out to Lunch Festival and Ulster Presents…

Craig Oldham: The Tools of Protest – A Talk on Visual Dissent

Ulster University, Belfast Campus, Block BC, Lecture Theatre 2

Friday 24 January, 6.30pm

Joel Harkin and Band play ‘I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning’

Joel Harkin and Band play ‘I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning’

Oh Yeah Centre

Friday 24 January, 8.00pm 

Nosferatu: A Symphony Of Horror – Live Performed Score by Documenta

Nosferatu: A Symphony Of Horror – Live Performed Score by Documenta

The Black Box

Friday 24 January, 8.00pm

Explosion Sound System meets MC Cheshire Cat: A Night of Reggae, Dub, and Jungle

Explosion Sound System meets MC Cheshire Cat: A Night of Reggae, Dub, and Jungle

The Deer’s Head

Friday 24 January, 9.00pm til late

New Street Adventure/Carmy Love/The Gold Tips/Aaron Craig

In association with Superfly Funk and Soul Belfast

New Street Adventure/Carmy Love/The Gold Tips/Aaron Craig

The Oh Yeah Centre

Saturday 25 January, 7.00pm - 1.00am

Dreamgun Film Reads – The Shawshank Redemption

Dreamgun Film Reads – The Shawshank Redemption

The Black Box

Sunday 26 January, 2.00pm

Supported By

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The Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival and Out To Lunch are annual festivals of music, comedy, theatre, art and literature which take place in January and May in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

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Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival / Out To Lunch Arts Festival
Unit 8
Northern Whig House
Bridge Street
Belfast
BT1 1LU