The John Butler Trio has announced its national Coming Home tour in 2019, including a Brisbane riverstage performance on Friday 22 February, with just over a week to go until the release of their first album in four years, Home.
Front man John says he is looking forward to entertaining crowds at the Riverstage. “Brisbane for me means great audiences,” he explains. “From the days playing at the Zoo [the venue] to now, the crowds have always been that special mix of attentive but vocal and uninhibited. That makes for some awesome shows – that and running through the botanical gardens is always good for the soul.”
John started playing the guitar at age 15 and quickly found his passion for music. “Writing songs was a way of writing in a diary and getting out all the big feelings I had – and still have,” he says. Having embarked on a fine arts course at university, he dropped out to play music and busk – marking the start of his successful career. “It’s a pretty amazing life. It’s a massive amount of work but anything worth doing well is worth working hard for.” John Butler Trio head to Japan at the end of the month before travelling straight to Europe and then the United States. “It’s such a privilege to be able to soak in cultures from all around the world and to make music for so many different people.”
How does he cope with the fast pace of tour life? “Touring is all about time management and making sure you can flip the switch at 9:30pm and somehow be ‘brilliant’,” he explains. “Making sure I exercise, meditate, eat, drink and sleep the right amounts and get alone time are pivotal to being a consistently quality performer.”
The band’s last album Flesh & Blood debuted at number two in the Australian charts in 2014. Coming Home will be released on Friday 28 September.
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