The members of Australia’s John Butler Trio have been keeping a grueling schedule, and with a new slate of spring U.S. shows on tap, there looks to be no end in sight. The commitment to rigorous road work comes in support of “Sunrise Over Sea” (Lava), which debuted last week at No. 21 on Billboard’s Top Heatseekers chart.
Following a six-week Stateside promotional tour, JBT returned home last week and yesterday (March 27) headlined the main stage at the East Coast Blues & Roots Festival in Byron Bay. With no time to rest, the band will be back in America tomorrow to perform on CBS’ “The Late Show With David Letterman.”
The end of April will find the group in France and England before the next U.S. leg of dates kicks off April 29 at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. It also includes a stop at Tennessee’s fourth annual Bonnaroo, Kansas’ Wakarusa festival and several dates with Trey Anastasio.
Butler recently told Billboard.com that he and his bandmates expect to tour the United States through the end of the year. “It’s what we do,” the dreadlocked frontman said over breakfast in Austin, Texas, during the South by Southwest music festival. “We’re looking to build [our fan base] here organically, like we did in Australia. The only way we can do that is by playing live and there’s a lot of ground to cover here.”
Butler also believes that the live setting is the best way for new fans to get into his music. “There’s a lot going on and sometimes it can be confusing for some people,” he said. “Then when you see us live, something clicks. You go home and listen to the record and it’s like, ‘I get it now.'”
Here are the John Butler Trio’s tour dates:
April 20: Lyon, France (Urban Roots Festival)
April 21: Marseille, France (Urban Roots Festival)
April 22: Bordeaux, France (Urban Roots Festival)
April 24: Paris (Bataclan)
April 25: Evreux, France (L’Abordage)
April 27: London (Carling Academy)
April 29: New Orleans (Jazz & Heritage Festival)
May 1: Nashville (3rd & Lindsay)
May 5: Indianapolis (Vogue)
May 6: Atlanta (Fox Theatre; w/Trey Anastasio)
May 7: Cincinnati (Taft Theatre; w/Trey Anastasio)
May 8: Milwaukee (Eagle’s Ballroom; w/Trey Anastasio)
May 10: Seattle (Chop Suey)
May 11: Portland, Ore. (Douglas Fir Lounge)
May 13: Joshua Tree, Calif. (Joshua Tree Music Festival)
May 14: Los Angeles (Troubadour)
May 15: San Diego (House of Blues)
May 18: Philadelphia (Theatre of Living Arts)
May 22: San Francisco (Great American Music Hall)
June 12: Manchester, Tenn. (Bonnaroo)
June 16: Telluride, Col. (Telluride Bluegrass Festival)
June 18: Lawrence, Kan. (Wakarusa Music Festival)
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