Louis Cato: Stephen Colbert’s Soulful Band Leader on Spiritual Music, Lessons from a Near-Death Experience, and Becoming Himself on Stage

The Great Creators with Guy Raz

Every weeknight, Louis Cato performs live in front of a few million people as the band leader for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. He arranges the tunes, sets the tone, and plays multiple instruments himself; Colbert calls him a “musical genius”. Today, Louis talks about the multi-decade journey that led him here – from listening to “only Jesus music” in his youth and then having his mind blown by the Rolling Stones, to dropping out of the Berklee College of Music and touring the world, to a near-fatal accident that still affects him to this day. He even sings us a few beautiful bars. Louis’ most recent solo album is called “Reflections”.

Links from the show:

• Louis being introduced by Stephen as the new Late Show band leader in 2022 Introducing Louis Cato and The Late Show Band!
• Louis’ NPR Tiny Desk Concert Louis Cato: Tiny Desk Concert
• Louis performing “Reflections” on the Late Show
• Buy Louis’ album “Reflections”
• Louis’ Instagram

See all our episodes – including conversations with Tom Hanks, Jason Sudeikis, Bjork, and many more – at TheGreatCreators.com.

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