Article Contributed by Shore Fire Media
Published on July 24, 2025
John Butler – one of Australia’s most successful independent artists and a pioneer for a generation of Australian artists, has shared “King of California” today, the third track from his new studio album PRISM (out September 5). “King of California” delves directly into the heart of Butler’s 25-year partnership with his muse and collaborator Mama Kin, charting the ebb and flow of a quarter century of love, growth and challenges. It’s one of 12 original new songs featured on PRISM – formed in the wake of personal tumult and loss, and a creative rejuvenation that led to some of the most candid, poignant and powerful work of Butler’s storied two-decade career. Butler and his new band will also hit the road again tomorrow, for the second and final leg of a major North American summer tour with Dispatch, Donovan Frankenreiter, G. Love & Special Sauce, and Illiterate Light. See below for the full list of tour dates.
Says Butler, about “King of California”: My partner and I have been on a pretty big ride together, constantly evolving and working out what it means to be life partners. With every new phase of living comes a new season of self-reflection and reassessment. We’re here to ground and uplift each other, never to minimise or restrict.”
Listen to “King of California” here: https://ffm.to/jb-kingofcalifornia + https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHmVKKpyyZ0
PRISM marks a bold new chapter for Butler — a formal departure from the John Butler Trio and a return to the one-man-band spirit that launched his career. PRISM is the third installment in a four-volume project entitled Four Seasons. Inspired by a long fascination with New Age music, he spent 10 days in a studio creating meditative music that led to 2024’s Running River, 100 minutes of gentle rhythms and expansive tones. The second installment would be Still Searching, six instrumentals featuring Butler’s virtuosic guitar work, a vital album that brought him back to his earliest days of making music. The table was set for PRISM, a return to lyrics and singing, faster tempos and louder songs – but the tracks Butler had been working on didn’t sit right. It was as if he overlooked the elemental nature of Running River and Still Searching, so he scrapped everything, and started over.
Butler teamed up with producer James Ireland, a stalwart of the vibrant Aussie indie music scene (Pond, San Cisco), during a period that Butler describes as an “existential breakdown” which included the passing of his father, and his father-in-law, and technical problems that rendered his home studio unusable. After two decades of near constant touring, he was nearly ready to throw in the towel. But what followed in his new sessions is an urgent work from an artist with a lot to say. “It’s a big life, and the world — in many ways — is in turmoil,” Butler explains. “Personally, I did a lot of soul-searching as this record took shape. PRISM is a cathartic release and a celebration of going solo. It reflects the full bandwidth of human emotion — love, death, politics, turmoil, and redemption.” The songs on PRISM double down on Butler’s longstanding activism, cope with his father’s passing, and explore reconciliation and what it takes to fight for love.
Butler has previously shared two songs from PRISM – “So Sorry,” and “Trippin’ On You,” which has been in the Top 20 on the AAA radio charts for the past few weeks.
As a musical revolutionary, political activist and environmental warrior, John Butler is one of Australia’s most prolific independent artists, forging his own path to success without surrender to major labels, corporate sponsors, or moral compromise.
PRISM is now available for pre-order: https://ffm.to/jb-prism
U.S. Tour Dates:
Jul 24, 2025 Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Amphitheater – San Diego, CA +
Jul 25, 2025 The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan – Las Vegas, NV +
Jul 26, 2025 The Pacific Amphitheatre – Costa Mesa, CA +
Jul 27, 2025 The Masonic – San Francisco, CA +
Jul 28, 2025 Revolution Hall – Portland, OR
Jul 31, 2025 Hayden Homes Amphitheater – Bend, OR +
Aug 1, 2025 Marymoor Live – Redmond, WA +
Aug 2, 2025 The Festival at Sandpoint – Sandpoint, ID +
Aug 3, 2025 KettleHouse Amphitheater – Bonner, MT +
Aug 5, 2025 Venue TBA – Salt Lake City, UT +
Aug 7, 2025 Red Rocks Amphitheatre – Morrison, CO *
Aug 8, 2025 Dillon Amphitheater – Dillon, CO *
* Dispatch, Donavon Frankenreiter and Illiterate Light
+ Dispatch, G. Love & Special Sauce and Donavon Frankenreiter
https://www.instagram.com/johnbutler/
