John Butler Trio Australia Tour 2027

The John Butler Trio are back, but they have not yet announced a tour for 2027. In September 2026 John Butler played two surprise sets under the Trio name at Bigsound in Brisbane, the first John Butler Trio shows since 2019, with a new line-up of Ian Peres on bass and keyboards and Jackie Barnes on drums. A remastered 25th anniversary edition of Three followed a week later. As of 9 October 2026, no John Butler Trio concerts in Australia or New Zealand have been announced for 2027.

Butler himself is busy before the year is out. In November 2026 he is a very special guest, with Ben Harper, on Jack Johnson's tour of Australia and New Zealand, with shows announced at places such as the Riverstage in Brisbane and Kings Park in Perth. Those are billed as evenings where each artist plays solo and acoustic, so they are not John Butler Trio concerts in the usual sense.

This page explains what is and is not known about the Trio in 2027 and tells the story of their concerts in Australia and New Zealand, from the Fremantle busking days and the tent at Byron Bay in 2000 to the Home tour that ended at Botanic Park in Adelaide on Saturday 9 March 2019.

John Butler Trio Australia Tour 2027: what is announced so far

There is no official information about a John Butler Trio tour in 2027. The Bigsound sets in Brisbane were a showcase rather than the start of an announced tour, and the band have not published dates for any Australian state or for New Zealand. Treat any '2027 tour' list or 'presale code' with suspicion until the band confirm it.

The return itself is significant. In April 2024, when he released his solo album Running River, Butler confirmed that the Trio had wound up after the Home tour in 2019, and he went on to release a second solo record, Prism, in September 2025. Reviving the name in 2026, alongside a reissue of the album that made the band, suggests the Trio is active again, but no new studio album or headline tour has been announced.

Before 2027 there is the Jack Johnson tour. In November 2026 Butler joins Jack Johnson and Ben Harper for shows in Australian cities including Brisbane and Perth, and in New Zealand, each act performing solo and acoustic. If you want to see him live soon, that is the confirmed opportunity; a full-band Trio show in 2027 would need a separate announcement.

History suggests that if the band do tour, it will be a big one. The last two Trio tours covered both countries: the 2018 Australasian Tour and the Home tour of 2019, which played the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, two nights at the Forecourt in Sydney, the Riverstage in Brisbane, two nights at Kings Park in Perth, Tolosa Park in Hobart and Botanic Park in Adelaide, plus Nelson and Auckland in New Zealand. That is a description of the past, not a prediction of the future.

Before the John Butler Trio Australia Tour 2027: Australia/NZ concert history

John Butler started out busking in Fremantle and formed the Trio there in 1998 with Gavin Shoesmith on bass and Jason McGann on drums. The breakthrough came at the East Coast Blues & Roots Music Festival in Byron Bay in 2000: Butler later recalled that the first show drew about 50 people, but at the second it poured with rain and 3,000 people ran into their tent. The band became regulars at the festival. After Three in 2001 they moved to Melbourne to work the east coast, played Splendour in the Grass, and toured so hard that their double live album Living 2001-2002 went platinum.

New Zealand took to them early. The setlist archive has the Kings Arms in Auckland on Friday 6 June 2003 and the Indigo Bar in Wellington, then Galatos in Auckland and Bodega in Wellington in June 2004. In January 2005 they played the Civic in Christchurch, a festival site in Kaikoura, two nights at the Phoenix in Wellington and the Green Stage in Auckland, and in July 2005 they returned to bigger rooms: Christchurch Town Hall, the State Opera House in Wellington and the St James Theatre in Auckland.

After the Boxing Day tsunami the Trio played the Wave Aid benefit in Sydney in January 2005. In 2007 they played every date of the Big Day Out, from Auckland on Friday 19 January to Perth on Sunday 4 February, after a pre-tour show at the San Francisco Bath House in Wellington. In July 2007 they were on the Australian leg of Live Earth in Sydney. The April Uprising era brought Mount Smart Stadium in Auckland in January 2011, the Powerstation and The Frontroom in Wellington in May 2011, and a summer vineyard tour of New Zealand in February 2012 that went from Sileni Estates in Hastings and Brooklands Lawn in New Plymouth to Peregrine Wines in Queenstown, Pegasus Town near Christchurch and Turanga Creek Vineyard in Auckland.

On Friday 5 October 2012 the band played The Wilderness Society's Save the Kimberley concert with Clare Bowditch and Missy Higgins; the setlist archive places that night at Federation Square in Melbourne. In November 2013 the Only One Tour previewed Flesh & Blood in small rooms: the Fly By Night Club in Fremantle, The Zoo in Brisbane, The Basement in Sydney, the Corner Hotel in Melbourne and the Seymour Centre in Sydney. The full Flesh & Blood tour of March and April 2014 then played the Fremantle Arts Centre, the Belvoir Amphitheatre, two nights at the Palais Theatre in Melbourne, the Thebarton Theatre, the Gardens Amphitheatre in Darwin, two nights at The Tivoli, the Hordern Pavilion on Friday 11 April, the Royal Theatre in Canberra, Anita's Theatre and Hobart City Hall, with the Powerstation in Auckland on 15 April.

The band kept the album on the road for two more years: a regional run in March 2015 through Port Fairy, Toowoomba, Bundaberg, Mackay, Townsville and Kuranda, and a summer tour in January and February 2016 that included two nights at Taronga Zoo in Sydney and two at the Melbourne Zoo. In 2017 they played the Gardens Amphitheatre in Darwin, Hanging Rock, two nights at The Domain in Sydney and Glenelg Beach in Adelaide.

The 2018 Australasian Tour went regional again, to the Wy Yung Pub, Albury, Ballarat, Bendigo, Wollongong and Port Macquarie, with Church Road Winery in Napier in New Zealand. Then came the Home tour of January to March 2019: Albany, Margaret River, Kings Park in Perth, the Sidney Myer Music Bowl on Thursday 7 February, All Saints Estate at Wahgunyah, Stage 88 in Canberra, two nights at the Forecourt in Sydney, the Riverstage in Brisbane, Tolosa Park in Hobart, the Trafalgar Centre in Nelson, the Hunting Lodge in Auckland and finally Botanic Park in Adelaide on 9 March 2019, the last Trio show in the archive.

The table below lists 107 documented Australia/NZ concerts by John Butler Trio between 2003 and 2019, with the most shows in Sydney (8), Auckland (7), Melbourne (7), Brisbane (5), Perth (5), Fremantle (4). It is not exhaustive: it only includes documented shows.

Concert data: setlist.fm

John Butler Trio Australia Tour 2027 setlist: the songs played most often in Australia and New Zealand

Across the 15 most recent documented Australia/NZ concerts with a full song list (5 February 2016 to 9 March 2019), these are the songs that came up most often. Titles only — set lists change from night to night.

1. Ocean — played at 15 of 15 shows
2. Zebra — played at 15 of 15 shows
3. Better Than — played at 14 of 15 shows
4. Pickapart — played at 13 of 15 shows
5. Don't Wanna See Your Face — played at 11 of 15 shows
6. Wade in the Water — played at 11 of 15 shows
7. Betterman — played at 10 of 15 shows
8. Blame It On Me — played at 10 of 15 shows
9. Just Call — played at 10 of 15 shows
10. Faith — played at 9 of 15 shows
11. Funky Tonight — played at 9 of 15 shows
12. Ragged Mile (Spirit Song) — played at 9 of 15 shows
13. We Want More — played at 9 of 15 shows
14. Home — played at 7 of 15 shows

Before the John Butler Trio Australia Tour 2027: past Australia/NZ tours at a glance

• Home (2018–2019): 18 Australia/NZ shows — Caloundra, Albany, Margaret River, Perth, Melbourne, Wahgunyah, Canberra, Sydney, Pokolbin, Coffs Harbour, Bundaberg, Rockhampton….
• Flesh & Blood (2014–2016): 42 Australia/NZ shows — Fremantle, Perth, Busselton, Melbourne, Adelaide, Darwin, Brisbane, Newcastle, Sydney, Canberra, Wollongong, Auckland….
• Only One Tour (2013): 7 Australia/NZ shows — Fremantle, Brisbane, Sydney, McLaren Vale, Queenscliff, Melbourne.
• April Uprising (2011–2013): 12 Australia/NZ shows — Auckland, Wellington, New Plymouth, Melbourne, Perth, Woodford, Glenworth Valley, Margaret River, Denmark, Fremantle.
• Grand National Pre-Tour (2007): 2 Australia/NZ shows — Wellington, Auckland.
• Living (2003): 2 Australia/NZ shows — Auckland, Wellington.

John Butler Trio Australia Tour 2027 and Australia/NZ festivals

Festivals made the John Butler Trio. Wikipedia credits the East Coast Blues & Roots Music Festival in Byron Bay in 2000 with building their reputation, and they returned to it regularly; they also played Splendour in the Grass, every leg of the 2007 Big Day Out and Live Earth in Sydney in 2007. The setlist archive adds the Woodford Folk Festival site over New Year 2012-13, the festival site in Glenworth Valley on New Year's Eve 2012, the Falls Festival sites at Lorne and Marion Bay over New Year 2014-15 and North Byron Parklands on 2 January 2015.

Later appearances in the archive include the festival site at Queenscliff in November 2013, Port Fairy in March 2015 and the Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm near Byron Bay on 1 April 2018. In New Zealand they played Mount Smart Stadium in Auckland in January 2007, on the Big Day Out, and again in January 2011, a Kaikoura festival site in January 2005 and Waiohika Estate in Gisborne on New Year's Eve 2009.

John Butler Trio Australia Tour 2027: career and records

The John Butler Trio are a roots rock band formed in Fremantle in 1998 and built around John Butler's guitar, banjo and voice. Their line-up has changed many times: Shoesmith and McGann, then Shannon Birchall and Michael Barker, then Byron Luiters with Nicky Bomba and later Grant Gerathy, and in 2019 OJ Newcomb and Terepai Richmond. Since 2002 their records have been released independently through Jarrah Records, which Butler co-owns with the Waifs and manager Philip Stevens.

Three (2001), with 'Betterman', reached No. 24 and won the ARIA for Best Independent Release. Sunrise Over Sea (2004), with 'Zebra', debuted at No. 1; 'Zebra' was No. 7 in the Triple J Hottest 100 and won Butler the APRA Song of the Year. Grand National (2007), led by 'Funky Tonight' and 'Better Than', was another No. 1, and 'Better Than' topped the US Triple A radio chart.

April Uprising (2010), recorded in Fremantle with Luiters and Bomba, was their third No. 1, with 'One Way Road' and 'Close to You'. In 2012 a studio video of the instrumental 'Ocean' went viral, passing 35 million views. Flesh & Blood (2014) reached No. 2 in Australia and New Zealand and won the ARIA for Best Blues and Roots Album, and Home (2018) went to No. 1.

Butler then put the Trio aside, releasing the solo albums Running River (2024) and Prism (2025). In September 2026 he revived the band at Bigsound with Ian Peres and Jackie Barnes, and the 25th anniversary edition of Three was released the following week.

John Butler Trio Australia Tour 2027: the Trio returns

The two surprise sets at Bigsound in Brisbane in September 2026 were the first under the John Butler Trio name since 2019. The new line-up has Ian Peres, who toured widely in Butler's solo band, on bass and keyboards, and Jackie Barnes on drums. The remastered 25th anniversary edition of Three came out the following week.

No tour has been attached to the return so far. As of 9 October 2026, there are no John Butler Trio dates for 2027 in Australia or New Zealand; the only confirmed shows ahead are Butler's guest slots on the Jack Johnson tour in November 2026.

John Butler Trio Australia Tour 2027: Fremantle and Western Australia

Fremantle is where Butler busked, where the Trio formed and where April Uprising was recorded in his home studio. The setlist archive has the band at the Fly By Night Club, the Fremantle Arts Centre, Fremantle Park and the Esplanade Reserve, and across Western Australia at the Belvoir Amphitheatre, Kings Park, Cottesloe Beach, Arena Joondalup, Leeuwin Estate and 3 Oceans Winery in the south-west, Castelli Winery in Denmark, Wignalls Winery in Albany and the Quindanning Hotel.

In 2012 the band also played the Save the Kimberley concert against industrial development at James Price Point near Broome, a cause close to Butler's activism.

John Butler Trio Australia Tour 2027: New Zealand, a second home

Few Australian bands have played New Zealand as thoroughly as the John Butler Trio. The setlist archive lists more than 25 New Zealand shows between 2003 and 2019, in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Kaikoura, Gisborne, New Plymouth, Hastings, Martinborough, Hamilton, Nelson, Queenstown and Napier.

Flesh & Blood reached No. 2 in New Zealand and April Uprising No. 6. The last New Zealand Trio shows were the Trafalgar Centre in Nelson on 2 March 2019 and the Hunting Lodge in Auckland on Sunday 3 March 2019. In November 2026 Butler returns to New Zealand as a guest on the Jack Johnson tour, but no Trio dates there have been announced.

John Butler Trio Australia Tour 2027: vineyards, zoos and the regions

The Trio have long favoured unusual outdoor venues: Taronga Zoo and the Melbourne Zoo in 2016, Hanging Rock in 2017, wineries such as Bimbadgen Estate and Hope Estate in the Hunter Valley, Serafino Wines in McLaren Vale and Bird in Hand in the Adelaide Hills, and a whole New Zealand vineyard tour in 2012.

They have also played many regional theatres, from the Empire Theatre in Toowoomba and the Moncrieff Theatre in Bundaberg to the Ulumbarra Theatre in Bendigo and the Albury Entertainment Centre. Fans outside the capitals have historically been well served when the band tour.

John Butler Trio Australia Tour 2027: what to expect live

A John Butler Trio show is built around long instrumental passages and Butler's guitar playing. Headline sets in the archive run to 15-19 songs. The centrepiece is usually 'Ocean', the instrumental that went viral in 2012, and the night typically ends with 'Zebra' or 'Funky Tonight'.

On the Home tour of 2019 the sets opened with 'Wade in the Water', then 'Running Away' or 'Tahitian Blue', 'Better Than', 'Faith' and 'Blame It On Me', before 'Pickapart', 'Ocean', 'Ragged Mile (Spirit Song)', 'Just Call', 'We Want More', 'Funky Tonight' and 'Zebra'. The Hordern Pavilion show of 11 April 2014 ran to 19 songs, including 'Revolution', 'Only One', 'Bullet Girl', 'Betterman', a cover of 'Happy' and 'Livin' in the City'.

Across all logged Australian and New Zealand shows, the most played songs are 'Zebra', 'Ocean', 'Better Than', 'Pickapart', 'Don't Wanna See Your Face', 'Funky Tonight' and 'Used to Get High'. What the new line-up will play beyond the Bigsound sets is not yet known.

John Butler Trio Australia Tour 2027 tickets and presales

There are no John Butler Trio tickets on sale for 2027, and no presale or on-sale date has been announced. Tickets for the November 2026 Jack Johnson shows, where Butler is a guest, are sold through that tour's official channels.

When Trio dates are announced, buy only through the official agency named in the announcement, the venue box office or the band's own mailing list. Most Australian tours now use name-locked mobile tickets, so buy through the official outlet or its official resale service to make sure the ticket is in your name, and nobody can sell a real 'presale code' for a tour that does not exist yet.

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John Butler Trio Australia Tour 2027: questions and answers

Are the John Butler Trio touring Australia in 2027?

Nothing has been announced. As of 9 October 2026 there are no John Butler Trio dates in Australia or New Zealand for 2027.

Are the John Butler Trio back together?

Yes. John Butler revived the Trio in September 2026 with Ian Peres and Jackie Barnes, playing two surprise sets at Bigsound in Brisbane.

Is John Butler playing in November 2026?

Yes, as a special guest with Ben Harper on Jack Johnson's tour of Australia and New Zealand. Each artist performs solo and acoustic.

When was the last full John Butler Trio tour?

The Home tour of 2019, which ended at Botanic Park in Adelaide on 9 March 2019.

Have the John Butler Trio played New Zealand?

Many times. The setlist archive has more than 25 New Zealand shows from 2003 to 2019, the last at the Hunting Lodge in Auckland on 3 March 2019.

What are their most played songs live?

'Zebra', 'Ocean', 'Better Than', 'Pickapart', 'Don't Wanna See Your Face' and 'Funky Tonight'.

Which John Butler Trio albums reached No. 1?

Sunrise Over Sea (2004), Grand National (2007), April Uprising (2010) and Home (2018).

Are there presale codes for a 2027 tour?

No. No tour has been announced, so no genuine presale exists. Sign up for our alert instead.