James Barker Band

James Barker Band
James Barker Band in 1997 From left to right: James Barker, Taylor Abram, Bobby Martin, and Connor Stephen
Background information
Origin	Woodville, Ontario, Canada
Genres	Country
Years active	2013-present
Labels	Universal Music Canada Records Starseed Sony Music Nashville Villa 40
Members	James Barker Taylor Abram Connor Stephen Bobby Martin
Website	www.jamesbarkerband.com

The James Barker Band is a Canadian country group formed in Woodville, Ontario in 2013. The band consists of James Barker, Taylor Abram, Connor Stephen, and Bobby Martin. ^[1] In Canada, they have five number one country singles with "Chills", "Keep It Simple", "Over All Over Again", "New Old Trucks", and "Meet Your Mama".

Career

In 2015, they won the Emerging Artist Showcase at the Boots and Hearts Music Festival and the following year, they were signed to Universal Music Canada. ^[2] The band's debut extended play, Game On , was released April 21, 2017. ^[3] The band received two Juno Award nominations for Breakthrough Group of the Year and Country Album of the Year at the 2018 Juno Awards, ^[4] winning the second. ^[5] In 2018, the band's song "Chills", cowritten by Barker, Gavin Slate, Travis Wood and Donovan Woods, received a SOCAN Songwriting Prize nomination ^[6] and won the award for Single of the Year at the Canadian Country Music Awards. ^{[7] [8]}

The band became the first artist to record a globally released Spotify Singles session in Canada in November 2018. ^{[9] [10]} Their second extended play, Singles Only , was released May 24, 2019. ^[11] They would follow that up with the standalone single "Summer Time" in June 2020, ^[12] and the extended play JBB-Sides in August 2020. ^[13]

In May 2021, they signed a record deal with Sony Music Nashville and Villa 40, and released the single "Over All Over Again", ^{[14] [15]} which became their third Canada Country number one. ^[16] In October 2021, they released the song "New Old Trucks", which features American country singer Dierks Bentley. ^[17] They followed that up with "Wastin' Whiskey" in 2022 on Starseed Records. ^[18] In the spring and summer of 2022, the band joined Dallas Smith as an opening act on his headlining "Some Things Never Change Tour" across Canada. ^[19] In January 2023, the band signed with Records Nashville, a joint venture between Sony Music Entertainment and Barry Weiss, and released the single "Meet Your Mama". ^[20] They would follow that up with the single "On the Water" featuring American country artist Dalton Dover in May of 2023. ^[21] Both songs are included on their extended play Ahead of Our Time , which was released on October 20, 2023. ^[22]

In January 2025, the band released the single "You Didn't Hear It From Me", after returning to their original label Universal Music Canada. ^[23]

Discography

Extended plays

List of EPs, with selected details

Title	Details	Peak positions	Certifications
		CAN [24]
Game On	Release date: April 21, 2017 Label: Universal Canada	29	MC: Gold [25]
Singles Only	Release date: May 24, 2019 Label: Universal Canada	68
JBB-Sides	Release date: August 21, 2020 Label: Universal Canada	—
Ahead of Our Time	Release date: October 20, 2023 Label: Records Label	—

Singles

List of singles, with selected peak chart positions and certifications

Title	Year	Peak positions			Certifications	Album
		CAN [26]	CAN Country [16]	US Country Airplay [27]
"Lawn Chair Lazy"	2016	—	3	—	MC: Platinum [25]	Game On
"Just Sayin'"		—	7	—	MC: Gold [25]
"Chills"	2017	91	1	46	MC: 2× Platinum [25]
"It's Working"		—	3	—	MC: Gold [25]
"Good Together"	2018	—	6	—	MC: Platinum [25]	Singles Only
"Keep It Simple"	2019	87	1	—	MC: Platinum [25]
"There's a Drink for That"		—	2	—	MC: Gold [25]
"Slow Down Town"	2020	—	21	—
"Summer Time"		— [A]	15	—	MC: Gold [25]	Non-album singles
"Over All Over Again"	2021	68	1	—	MC: Gold [25]
"New Old Trucks" (with Dierks Bentley)		63	1	—	MC: Gold [25]
"Wastin' Whiskey"	2022	67	2	—	MC: Gold [25]
"Meet Your Mama"	2023	85	1	—	MC: Gold [25]	Ahead of Our Time
"On the Water" (featuring Dalton Dover)		—	6	—
"Ahead of Our Time"		—	9	—
"Your Mama Would Hate Me" (with Dean Brody)	2024	—	19	—		TBA
"You Didn't Hear It from Me"	2025	—	11	—
"—" denotes a recording that failed to chart or was not released to that territory

Promotional singles

List of promotional singles

Title	Year	Album
"Beer Me" [29]	2022	Non-album singles
"Rain All Summer" [30]
"Champagne"	2023	Ahead of Our Time

Music videos

List of music videos

Title	Year
"Lawn Chair Lazy"	2016
"Just Sayin"
"Chills"	2017
"It's Working"
"Keep It Simple"	2019
"There’s a Drink for That"
"Slow Down Town"	2020

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominee/work	Result	Ref
2017	CMAO Awards	Fan's Choice	James Barker Band	Won	[31] [32]
		Group or Duo of the Year		Nominated
		Single of the Year	"Lawn Chair Lazy"	Nominated
		Music Video of the Year	"Chills"	Nominated
	CCMA	Album of the Year	Game On	Nominated	[33]
		Group or Duo of the Year	James Barker Band	Nominated
		Rising Star Award		Nominated
		Single of the Year	"Lawn Chair Lazy"	Nominated
		Video of the Year	"Chills"	Nominated
	Canadian Radio Music Awards	Best New Group or Solo Artist: Country	"Lawn Chair Lazy"	Won	[34]
2018	JUNO Awards	Breakthrough Group of the Year	James Barker Band	Nominated	[35]
		Country Album of the Year	Game On	Won
	CCMA	Fan's Choice Award	James Barker Band	Nominated
		Group or Duo of the Year		Nominated
		Single of the Year	"Chills"	Won
		Top Selling Canadian Single of the Year	"Chills"	Won
2019	CCMA	Fan's Choice Award	James Barker Band	Nominated	[36]
		Group or Duo of the Year		Nominated
		Interactive Artist of the Year		Nominated
		Single of the Year	"Good Together"	Nominated
2020	CCMA	Album Of The Year	Singles Only	Nominated	[37]
		Fans’ Choice Award	James Barker Band	Nominated
		Group Or Duo Of The Year		Nominated
		Single Of The Year	"Keep It Simple"	Won
	CMAO Awards	Single of the Year	"Keep It Simple"	Won	[38]
		Album of the Year	Singles Only	Nominated
		Group or Duo of the Year	James Barker Band	Nominated
		Music Video of the Year	"Keep It Simple"	Won
		Fans' Choice	James Barker Band	Nominated
2021	CMAO Awards	Fans' Choice	James Barker Band	Nominated	[39]
	2021 Canadian Country Music Awards	Interactive Artist or Group of the Year	James Barker Band	Nominated	[40] [41]
2022	CMAO Awards	Fans' Choice	James Barker Band	Nominated	[42] [43]
	Canadian Country Music Association	Entertainer of the Year	James Barker Band	Nominated	[44] [45]
		Fans' Choice	James Barker Band	Nominated
		Group or Duo of the Year	James Barker Band	Nominated
		Interactive Artist or Group of the Year	James Barker Band	Nominated
		Single of the Year	"Over All Over Again"	Nominated
2023	CMAO Awards	Fans' Choice	James Barker Band	Nominated	[46] [47]
		Group or Duo of the Year	James Barker Band	Nominated
	Canadian Country Music Association	Fans' Choice	—	Won	[48] [49]
		Group or Duo of the Year	—	Won
		Single of the Year	"Wastin' Whiskey"	Nominated
2024	Juno Awards	Country Album of the Year	Ahead of Our Time	Won	[50]
	CMAO Awards	Album / EP of the Year	Ahead of Our Time	Nominated	[51] [52]
		Compass Award	—	Won
		Fans' Choice	—	Nominated
		Group or Duo of the Year	—	Won
	Canadian Country Music Association	Fans' Choice	—	Won	[53]
		Group or Duo of the Year	—	Won
		Single of the Year	"Meet Your Mama"	Nominated

Notes

1. "Summer Time" did not enter the Canadian Hot 100, but peaked at number 24 on the Hot Canadian Digital Song Sales chart. ^[28]

References

1. Whitaker, Sterling (June 29, 2016). "James Barker Band Get 'Lawn Chair Lazy' in New Video [Exclusive Premiere]". Taste of Country . Townsquare Media . Retrieved November 17, 2024.
2. Doolan, Susan (July 15, 2016). "Band catches a big break at festival". The Barrie Examiner . Postmedia Network . Retrieved March 25, 2017.
3. "James Barker Band: Video + EP Release Date". iHeartRadio . Retrieved March 25, 2017.
4. "Arcade Fire and Daniel Caesar lead 2018 Juno Award nominations". CBC Music, February 6, 2018.
5. "Junos 2018: the complete list of winners". CBC News, · March 25, 2018
6. "2018 SOCAN Songwriting Prize Nominees Revealed". Exclaim! , May 24, 2018.
7. "Host Shania Twain is big winner at 2018 Canadian Country Music Awards". CBC News, September 9, 2018.
8. "The best Nova Scotia concerts of 2018". Chronicle Herald, Stephen Cooke, Dec 20, 2018
9. "Spotify Singles". Spotify . Universal Music Group. November 7, 2018.
10. "James Barker Band Release Their Spotify Singles Session". Umusic . November 7, 2018. Archived from the original on January 20, 2019. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
11. "James Barker Band Return With Their Sophomore EP, Singles Only". UMusic.ca. Universal Music Canada. Archived from the original on June 22, 2020. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
12. Colley, Katie (June 12, 2020). "James Barker Band Are On 'Summer Time' With Their Catchy New Single". ET Canada . Corus Entertainment. Archived from the original on June 12, 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
13. Colley, Katie (July 31, 2020). "James Barker Band Honour Singer's Late Nana In New Track 'Mama's Cooking'". ET Canada . Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
14. Farthing, Lydia (May 14, 2021). "Canadian Group James Barker Band Signs To Villa 40/Sony Music Nashville". Music Row.
15. Laffer, Lauren (May 14, 2021). "James Barker Band Debuts New Single, 'Over All Over Again'". Sounds Like Nashville.
16. • Chart peaks before December 1, 2021: "James Barker Band Chart History (Canada Country)". Billboard . Archived from the original on December 1, 2021. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
    • "Wastin' Whiskey": "Canada Country chart for August 27, 2022". Billboard. Retrieved August 23, 2022.(subscription required)
    • "Meet Your Mama": "Canada Country chart for May 20, 2023" . Billboard. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
    • "On the Water": "Canada Country chart for October 14, 2023" . Billboard. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
    • "Ahead of Our Time": "Canada Country chart for March 2, 2024" . Billboard. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
    • "Your Mama Would Hate Me": "Canada Country chart for August 17, 2024" . Billboard. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
    • "You Didn't Hear It From Me": "Canada Country chart for March 22, 2025". Billboard Canada. Retrieved March 20, 2025.
17. "James Barker Band Teams Up With Dierks Bentley for "New Old Trucks"". The Country Note. October 8, 2021. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
18. Dagg, Nanci (March 29, 2022). "James Barker Band delivers what could be another #1 single with the release of "Wastin' Whiskey"". Canadian Beats Media.
19. Dagg, Nanci (November 29, 2021). "Dallas Smith has announced The Some Things Never Change 2022 Tour and debuted his new single "Hide from a Broken Heart" at a special performance on CCCMA Awards Show". Canadian Beats Media.
20. Farthing, Lydia (January 23, 2023). "James Barker Band Joins Records Nashville's Growing Roster". Music Row Magazine. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
21. Zisman, Erica (May 26, 2023). "James Barker Band Collabs with Dalton Dover on New Song "On the Water"". Country Swag. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
22. Hollabaugh, Lorie (11 September 2023). "James Barker Band Pops 'Champagne' For Upcoming EP 'Ahead Of Our Time'". Music Row. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
23. "JAMES BARKER BAND RELEASE NEW TRACK "YOU DIDN'T HEAR IT FROM ME"". Universal Music Canada . January 10, 2025. Retrieved January 12, 2025.
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26. • "Chills", "Keep It Simple", "Over All Over Again": "James Barker Band Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 11, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
    • "New Old Trucks": "Canadian Hot 100: March 15, 2022" . Billboard. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
    • "Wastin' Whiskey": "Canadian Hot 100: August 27, 2022" . Billboard. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
    • "Meet Your Mama": "Canadian Hot 100: May 27, 2023" . Billboard. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
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28. "James Barker Band Chart History (Hot Canadian Digital Song Sales)". Billboard . Archived from the original on November 30, 2021. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
29. "Beer Me – Single by James Barker Band". Spotify . Retrieved March 27, 2023.
30. "Rain All Summer – Single by James Barker Band". Spotify . July 15, 2022. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
31. "Nominees announced for 2017 CMAO Awards hosted in London". AM980. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
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33. "CCMA Announces 2017 Award Nominees" . Retrieved 12 July 2017.
34. "Photo Review - CMW 2017 - Canadian Radio Music Awards | Canadian Beats Media" . Retrieved 1 February 2021.
35. "James Barker Band - The JUNO Awards". junoawards.ca. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
36. "2019 CCMA Award Nominees - Canadian Country Music Association". www.ccma.org. Archived from the original on 17 June 2020. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
37. "2020 CCMA Awards: The complete country music winners list". Global News. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
38. "2020 Winners & Nominees". CMA Ontario. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
39. "2021 Winners & Nominees". CMA Ontario. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
40. Colley, Katie (September 21, 2021). "The Reklaws Lead CCMA Awards Nominations With Six: See The Full List". ET Canada . Archived from the original on September 23, 2021.
41. Samhan, Jamie (November 30, 2021). "2021 CCMA Awards winners list: Dallas Smith voted entertainer of the year". Global News .
42. "2022 CMAOntario Awards Nominees Announced". CMA Ontario. March 24, 2022. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
43. "10th Annual CMAOntario Awards Winners Announced". CMA Ontario. June 6, 2022. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
44. "2022 CCMA AWARD NOMINEES". Canadian Country Music Association . 20 July 2022. Archived from the original on September 13, 2022. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
45. "TENILLE TOWNES TAKES HOME FOUR WINS AT THE 2022 CCMA AWARDS PRESENTED BY TD". Canadian Country Music Association (Press release). Global News Wire. September 11, 2022. Archived from the original on September 12, 2022.
46. "2023 CMAOntario Awards: Celebrating the Best Country Music In Ontario". Front Porch Music. March 27, 2023. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
47. "2023 CMAOntario Awards: Winners Announced!". Country Music Association of Ontario. June 5, 2023. Archived from the original on June 5, 2023.
48. "2023 CCMA Awards Nominees". Canadian Country Music Association . July 13, 2023. Archived from the original on July 14, 2023.
49. "OFFICIAL 2023 CCMA AWARDS PRESENTED BY TD WINNERS". Canadian Country Music Association . September 16, 2023. Archived from the original on September 18, 2023.
50. "Junos 2024: full list of winners"". CBC Music . March 23, 2024.
51. "2024 CMAOntario Awards". CMAOntario. Archived from the original on June 14, 2024. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
52. "2024 CMAOntario Awards Winners Announced". CMAOntario. June 5, 2024. Archived from the original on June 14, 2024. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
53. "2024 CCMA AWARDS NOMINEES". Canadian Country Music Association . Archived from the original on July 19, 2024. Retrieved July 25, 2024.

External links

• Official website
• "James Barker Band | Album Discography". AllMusic.