Australian sensation The John Butler Trio [ tickets ] looks to make further inroads with US audiences during a spring roadtrip.

The group kicks off the run in early February, and is so far scheduled to hit 14 cities by month's end. The itinerary, which is shown below, includes a two-night stand at famed San Francisco club the Fillmore.

Band namesake/singer/guitarist John Butler, drummer Michael Barker and upright bassist Shannon Birchall are backing their stateside debut, "Sunrise Over Sea," which hit US stores last March. The disc surfaced in 2004 in the group's home country, where it debuted at No. 1 and earned Butler the Best Male Artist, Best Indie Release and Best Blues & Roots Album trophies at the annual ARIA Awards.

The album's No. 1 debut marked the highest Australian chart position ever achieved by an independently released artist, according to a press release.

JBT mounted a US tour last year, which, in addition to a number of headlining club dates, also included an opening stint with the Dave Matthews Band and a slot on the 2005 Bonnaroo roster.

Last fall, JBT got some additional US exposure when HBO used the song "What You Want," a cut off of "Sunrise Over Sea," as the backing track for a lengthy promotional trailer that spotlighted the cable-television channel's original-series programming. The clip is streaming at JBT's website.

Fellow Aussie Jeff Lang will hold down the opening slot on JBT's upcoming US trek. His latest release is last year's "You Have to Dig Deep to Bury Daddy."