THE TRIALS OF CATO

April 2022

The Trials Of Cato, a band that arrived fully formed and functioning from Beirut in the winter of 2016, have since torn a shape very much their own into the canvas of the UK folk scene. Originally from North Wales and Yorkshire, whilst living in Lebanon they spent a year boiling down the roots of their sound into a hybrid of traditional influences that intrigued Lebanese audiences in the country’s biggest venues.

Following a year of wall-to-wall touring across the UK, Europe, and North America in 2019, the band’s march was halted by the live silence of the global pandemic. Now, they emerge from their chrysalis transformed. As ever, ‘The Trials Continue’ - but this time the multi-talented instrumentalist and singer Polly Bolton joins their ranks.

The Trials of Cato’s hotly anticipated second album is scheduled for release later this year. Entitled Gog Magog, the album is named both after the mythical giant of Arthurian legend and the Cambridgeshire hilltop, where the new album was birthed over lockdown.

“One of the real discoveries on the folk circuit in recent times"
Mark Radcliffe, BBC Radio 2
“Fascinating stuff” – Cerys Matthews, BBC 6 Music
“One of the most impressive debut folk albums of the year ★★★★”
Songlines
“A band name on everyone’s lips” – fRoots