John Charles Wiltshire-Butler (born 1 April 1975), professionally known as John Butler, is an Australian singer, songwriter and music producer. He is best known for his time as the eponymous frontman of the John Butler Trio, a roots rock and jam rock band that formed in Fremantle, Western Australia, in 1998.

The John Butler Trio recorded five studio albums, including three that reached number one on the Australian charts: Sunrise Over Sea, Grand National and April Uprising. His recordings and live performances have met with critical praise and received awards from the Australian Performing Right Association and the Australian Recording Industry Association.

Butler was born in the United States and moved to Australia at an early age. He began playing the guitar at the age of 16. In 2002, along with several partners, formed the Jarrah record label. He is also the co-founder of The JB Seed, a grant program that seeks to improve artistic diversity in Australia.

Early life and education

John Charles Wiltshire-Butler was born on 1 April 1975 to an Australian father, Darryl Wiltshire-Butler, and an American mother, Barbara (née Butler).<sup>[A]</sup> He was named after his paternal grandfather, John Wiltshire, a forestry worker who died fighting a bushfire in Nannup. Butler was also participant in the Western Australian skateboarding scene, and is recognised for his involvement with the internationally renowned "Woolstores" street spot in Fremantle.

Career

Vitamin

Butler travelled to Encinitas, California, after high school, where he spent two years with his brother Jim and began his music career in a band called Vitamin. His first gig was on 9 September 1994 at the Metaphor Cafe in Escondido, California. Vitamin were written up and reviewed in Go magazine, performed around the San Diego area and played one show in Houston, Texas, opening for Dive (which later became Osmant in 1995). Vitamin recorded two tracks, "Deadhorse" and "Mary Jane", at the Belly Up Studios in Solana Beach, California, in 1994. Vitamin bandmate Ozzie Rea fronted a Perth funk band, Proton. The two can be found on The Live at Mojo's CD and performed together on New Years Ever Y2K. The members of Vitamin were John Butler (12-string guitar, vocals); Ozzie Rea (vocals); Justin Bancroft (electric guitar); Taria Flower Star (bass); Duck Grossberg (bass); Desiree (congas); Gabe (Djembe); Jim (Harmonica); and Hailey Odom (harmonica). Butler was a busker on the streets of Fremantle playing his own compositions.

Butler explained in an interview during the band's US tour:

<blockquote>But a lot of these songs on this album I kind of magpied. Magpies are this bird in Australia that takes shiny things from anywhere and builds its nest, and so that's kind of what I do. I'll take a little of my own experience of having some heavy party time with certain friends, and then I'll hear some other stories about addicts or other intense relationships. I'll put them into the mixing pot and make up these characters to explore different possibilities and emotional landscapes.</blockquote>

One of the songs on the album, "Wings Are Wide", was written as a dedication to his grandmother, who gave Butler his grandfather's Dobro guitar that became the foundation for his songwriting. Butler admitted that "I wasn't at all into roots music or playing the slide or anything when I got it, and it sat under my bed for a long, long time." Released in Australia on 8 February 2014, Flesh and Blood was produced by Jan Skubiszewski and features a vocal duet with Ainslie Wills.

Solo

On 29 June 2007, Butler gave a live solo performance at Twist and Shout Records in Denver, Colorado, which was released in January 2008 as an eight-track EP, One Small Step, with A$1 from each record sold being donated to Oxfam's "Close the Gap" campaign. One Small Step was Butler's first official solo release. Kelly Slater also featured the track 'Ocean' for the charity album project with John Butler in a PSA he released to help promote the project.

In July 2009, Butler undertook a solo overseas tour commencing in North America, where he played at the Montreal Jazz Festival, the Rothbury Music Festival in Michigan and The Mile High Music Festival in Denver. In North America he sold out headline shows in Toronto and Los Angeles. In Europe, Butler played at the Folies Bergère in Paris and London's Union Chapel. He also performed at Cannes, Amsterdam and Antwerp.

Upon his return in August, he took part in the Cannot Buy My Soul concert at the Queensland Music Festival. Butler performed alongside other local musicians (including Paul Kelly, Missy Higgins, Troy Cassar-Daley, Clare Bowditch, Tex Perkins and Bernard Fanning) reinterpreting the catalogue of indigenous Australian musician Kev Carmody. Ocean's arrangement is similar to Salento pizzica.

Political activism

thumb|right|Butler speaking with [[Oxfam Australia about Close the Gap in 2013]]

Butler is an advocate of peace, environmental protection, and global harmony. On 4 October 2012, Butler was joined by 150 people during a protest outside the BHP Billiton headquarters in Melbourne; the protest was in response to the corporation's involvement with a proposed James Price Point gas industrial complex in Western Australia's Kimberley region.

Butler performed at another concert in support of the Kimberley cause on 24 February 2013, with Missy Higgins also appearing again, with the event held at The Esplanade in Fremantle, Western Australia. Jarrah Records, the record label that Butler co-founded with The Waifs and Phil Stevens, worked in partnership with The Wilderness Society to stage the free event that also featured the band Ball Park Music and Bob Brown, former leader of the Australian Greens. A march to protest the proposed gas refinery construction at James Price Point accompanied the free concert and campaign supporters were photographed with banners and placards.

In response to the proposed dumping of around of dredged seabed onto the Great Barrier Reef, a legal fighting team was formed by World Wide Fund for Nature-Australia and the Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) in late 2013/early 2014. The legal team received further support in April 2014, following the release of the "Sounds for the Reef" musical fundraising project. Produced by Straightup, the digital album features Butler, in addition to artists such as The Herd, Sietta, Missy Higgins, The Cat Empire, Fat Freddys Drop, The Bamboos (featuring Kylie Auldist) and Resin Dogs. Released on 7 April, the album's 21 songs were sold on the Bandcamp website.

Butler is against Coal Seam Gas (CSG) and gave a free supporting concert at the Bentley protesting the Northern Rivers of New South Wales, Australia, on 20 April 2014.

Butler supports freedom of West Papua on Republic of Indonesia.

Personal life

Butler is married to Danielle Caruana, an Australian musician and vocalist who performs under the name of Mama Kin.

! scope="col" style="width:3em; font-size:85%" | FRA<br>Rock<br />

|-

! scope="row" | Searching for Heritage

|

  • Released: 1996
  • Format: Cassette
  • Label: John Butler

| — || —

|-

! scope="row" | One Small Step/<br>Live At Twist & Shout

|

  • Released: 2007
  • Format: CD
  • Label: Jarrah Records (JBT013)

| 23 || —

|-

! scope="row" | Tin Shed Tales

|

  • Released: May 2012
  • Format: 2×CD, digital
  • Label: Jarrah Records (JBT017)

| 28 || —

|-

! scope="row" | Running River

|

  • Released: 24 May 2024
  • Format: Digital
  • Label: Family Music

| — || —

|-

! scope="row" | Still Searching

|

  • Released: 1 November 2024
  • Format: Digital, LP, CD
  • Label: Family Music

| 23 || —

|-

! scope="row" | Prism

|

  • Released: 5 September 2025
  • Format: Digital, LP, CD
  • Label: Family Music

| 3<br /> || 14

|}

Charted singles

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1"

|+ List of singles, with selected details and chart positions

! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Title

! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:3em;"| Year

! scope="col" colspan="2"| Peak chart positions

! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Album

|-

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"| JPN<br />Over.<br />

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"| US<br />AAA

|-

! scope="row"| "Trippin on You"

| rowspan="2"| 2025

| — || 19

| rowspan="2"| Prism

|-

! scope="row"| "So Sorry"

| 17 || —

|}

With John Butler Trio

Awards and nominations

AIR Awards

The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector.

|-

| 2012

|Tin Shed Tales

| Best Independent Blues and Roots Album

|

|-

| rowspan="1"| 2026

| rowspan="1"| Prism

| Best Independent Blues and Roots Album or EP

|

| rowspan="1"|

|-

APRA Awards

The APRA Awards are presented annually from 1982 by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA).

|

|-

|rowspan="5"| 2011 || "Revolution" (John Butler) – The John Butler Trio || Song of the Year ||

|-

|rowspan="2"| "Close to You" (John Butler) – The John Butler Trio || Blues & Roots Work of the Year ||

|-

| Most Played Australian Work ||

|-

|rowspan="2"| "One Way Road" (John Butler) – The John Butler Trio || Blues & Roots Work of the Year ||

|-

| Most Played Australian Work ||

|-

| 2015 || "Livin' in the City" (John Butler) – The John Butler Trio || Blues & Roots Work of the Year ||

|-

| 2020 || "Just Call" (John Butler) – The John Butler Trio || Most Performed Blues & Roots Work of the Year ||

|-

ARIA Awards

The ARIA Music Awards are presented annually from 1987 by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). The John Butler Trio have won five awards from 21 nominations (see John Butler Trio awards).

  • Official website
  • JB Seed grants project