The John Butler Trio is a band from Australia formed in 1995 led by guitarist and vocalist John Butler. Current members are Michael Barker (drummer) and Shannon Birchall. John Butler got his start busking in front of crowds at the Fremantle Markets in Western Australia, this background in folk music and reggae heavily influenced his sound. Two albums released by the band Three (2001) and Living 2001 - 2002 (2003) have gone platinum in Australia and reached the top ten of the Australian album charts in those years. The 2004 album Sunrise Over Sea debuted at number one on the Australian charts on March 15, 2004 reaching gold record status in its first week on sale. This success is more impressive given that the bands releases are marketed independently by Jarrah Records which John Butler co-owns with West Australian folk band the Waifs. The John Butler Trio have recently announced that Michael and Shannon will no longer be a part of the group for artistic reasons. They will play four more shows during the Easter period in 2009 and then officially leave the group. John Butler will soon be recording his fifth studio album.
The band has won an ARIA award for "Best Independent Release" for Three in 2001 and has been nominated for three others.