Iconic Australian musician John Butler will return to Canberra for a special show that’s different from anything he’s done in the past.

The ARIA-award-winning singer-songwriter and guitarist will release his latest album, Still Searching, on 1 November, accompanied by a national tour that starts in Canberra on 2 November.

Butler will perform Still Searching in full, with the shows being the only opportunity for fans to hear the new tunes live.

He will be joined on stage by former John Butler Trio bandmate Michael Barker for the first time since 2009, and percussionist Michael Boase.

Representing the middle of a cycle, Still Searching is the second season in a project Butler describes as The Four Seasons. He will release the next album in the series in 2025, followed by the creation of a new band and the release of another album.

Butler will perform at Canberra Theatre Centre on Saturday 2 November at 8pm.

Why are you limiting the number of shows for this album?
It was ass-backwards in how can we make this album special? The first idea was not to put it on streaming services, let’s do the shows first.

We thought we’ll do a tour and make it only available on tour but it’s like a piece of string in that we have to put it on the streaming services. Now I’m touring an instrumental album, which I’ve never done before.

It’s not a trio anymore (John Butler Trio), it’s not the name, it’s just John Butler and I have the band.
The last band I had included more people in it and the incarnation before that was five. I may as well call it John Butler can’t count.

How does it feel to be performing with Michael Barker again?
He was in the second incarnation of the band really. There were a few alternations of bass players

Barker was a huge part of our breakout album, Sunrise over Sea (released in 2004) and Grand National (2007). I toured with him for more than 10 years.

Barker is a multi-instrumentalist and percussive. He posted something on socials about the band (John Butler Trio) and I took it as a sign, I told him about the project and said ‘Wanna have a play date?’ It was lovely because there was never an assumption that would be the case.

We (Barker and Butler) haven’t played together yet. I haven’t seen him for a while and I’m a little nervous about seeing an old buddy.

I’d taken five years off from having a band at all, I went solo during COVID-19; I was enjoying that. I liked not having the complexity of working with lots of people, I liked the lightness of it.

I also sometimes struggle with being the songwriter, the boss, and the cohabitor and friend combo. Sometimes I find it really complex. I overthink things and I am sensitive, so it was nice to go solo for a while.

I’ll be on the road for the next three to four years and I spend more time with the crew and bandmembers than my family.

Do you ever line up your tours with your wife, Danielle Caruana (Mama Kin)?

We are like ships that pass in the night because we have a family so when I’m on the road, she’s at home and when she’s on the road, I’m at home with the family. She’s in Ireland at the moment for a tour.

We have to do a lot of that ‘tetrising.’ She’s a badass feminist and superwoman, and she’s like, ‘I’m not going to be in my husband’s shadow.’

It’s this idea of a sceptical world we live in of the music and arts. You don’t want to see your success tagged along to your husband – sometimes we tour together.

How old are the children now?
22 and 18.

My daughter is a great songwriter and performer. She’s released a few albums under the name Banjo Lucia.

She’s the same as me; I asked if she wanted to be my support act, but she said ‘Not yet dad. I don’t want to be a nepo baby’.

My son (Jahli) is a rad skateboarder like I used to be, he’s a fashion designer, an artist and he designs clothes, he’s good on a sewing machine.

What do you enjoy the most about performing in Canberra?
The nature of my work is that I’m in a different capital city every 23 hours.

I like Canberra though, Canberra as much as it’s the capital city it’s kind of the city you never thought would be the capital city.

It almost feels like going to regional; with regional gigs, people always appreciate you going out; Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane just always kind of expect it.

Do you ever take breaks?
I take breaks. The nature of my work is that it’s intensive then it stops.

I’m quite busy for the near future. Once I’ve finished The Four Seasons, I’ll take time to recalibrate, come back to myself, and then start a new book. Things tend to flow, and I stay mostly busy.

In my time off, I make jewellery, have a sauna on a trailer for saunas and ice baths, manage ADHD and anxiety, skateboard, and play lots of music.

Music is my friend. For the younger/future generations, there’s a lot of hopelessness in the music industry because no one buys CDs anymore and Spotify only pays a small amount.

always tell my daughter, ‘You’d do a $50 gig and sell $200 worth of CDs.’ She said, ‘I don’t want to break my own heart doing music,’ and I replied, ‘It’s better to play music like a friend at midnight, where you can lose yourself and feel like you’re having a conversation with something bigger and more divine than you.’

For me, first and foremost playing guitar is a mate, it’s like a journal entry and making sense of the world.

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