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The Trials of Cato formed in Beirut in the summer of 2015 and spent a formative year performing traditional music on the Lebanese music scene and developing their sound. Following their debut at Radio Beirut in September 2015, they went on to regularly fill some of Beirut's foremost music venues.

Since returning to the UK, their feet have hardly touched the ground as they are booked up at folk clubs and festivals across the country thanks to a formidable live reputation. Their appearances this year have included slots at Cambridge and Shrewsbury folk festivals as well as folk clubs such as The Black Swan in York and the Red Lion in Birmingham. BBC Radio 2’s Mark Radcliffe recently had the following to say about them:

‘One of the real discoveries on the folk circuit in recent times – breathing new life into old tunes and bringing thought-provoking new material to the scene...Players and songwriters of considerable skill and feel with a genuinely likeable stage presence. See them whilst they’re still cheap’!

Their eponymous debut EP has now been widely reviewed and well received, and was described as 'one hell of a calling card' in FATEA Magazine earlier this year. The Trials of Cato are now preparing to record their debut album alongside their busy gigging schedule.

The band's live set includes both original and traditional material, featuring fretted instruments alone to achieve a musical presence not often heard on the modern folk scene. With tight instrumentation and rousing harmonies, the music is firmly rooted in the folk traditions of Ireland and Britain, yet the source material is decidedly contemporary.