# James Barker Band

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. 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. The band's debut extended play, Game On, was released April 21, 2017. The band received two Juno Award nominations for Breakthrough Group of the Year and Country Album of the Year at the 2018 Juno Awards, winning the second. In 2018, the band's song "Chills", cowritten by Barker, Gavin Slate, Travis Wood and Donovan Woods, received a SOCAN Songwriting Prize nomination and won the award for Single of the Year at the Canadian Country Music Awards.
The band became the first artist to record a globally released Spotify Singles session in Canada in November 2018. Their second extended play, Singles Only, was released May 24, 2019. They would follow that up with the standalone single "Summer Time" in June 2020, and the extended play JBB-Sides in August 2020.
In May 2021, they signed a record deal with Sony Music Nashville and Villa 40, and released the single "Over All Over Again", which became their third Canada Country number one. In October 2021, they released the song "New Old Trucks", which features American country singer Dierks Bentley. They followed that up with "Wastin' Whiskey" in 2022 on Starseed Records. 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. 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". They would follow that up with the single "On the Water" featuring American country artist Dalton Dover in May of 2023. Both songs are included on their extended play Ahead of Our Time, which was released on October 20, 2023.
In January 2025, the band released the single "You Didn't Hear It From Me", after returning to their original label Universal Music Canada.

## Discography
### Extended plays

List of EPs, with selected details :
| Title | Details | Peak positions | Certifications |
| Title | Details | CAN | Certifications |
| Game On | Release date: April 21, 2017 Label: Universal Canada | 29 | MC: Gold |
| 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 | Peak positions | Peak positions | Certifications | Album |
| Title | Year | CAN | CAN Country | US Country Airplay | Certifications | Album |
| "Lawn Chair Lazy" | 2016 | — | 3 | — | MC: Platinum | Game On |
| "Just Sayin'" | 2016 | — | 7 | — | MC: Gold | Game On |
| "Chills" | 2017 | 91 | 1 | 46 | MC: 2× Platinum | Game On |
| "It's Working" | 2017 | — | 3 | — | MC: Gold | Game On |
| "Good Together" | 2018 | — | 6 | — | MC: Platinum | Singles Only |
| "Keep It Simple" | 2019 | 87 | 1 | — | MC: Platinum | Singles Only |
| "There's a Drink for That" | 2019 | — | 2 | — | MC: Gold | Singles Only |
| "Slow Down Town" | 2020 | — | 21 | — | | Singles Only |
| "Summer Time" | 2020 | — | 15 | — | MC: Gold | Non-album singles |
| "Over All Over Again" | 2021 | 68 | 1 | — | MC: Gold | Non-album singles |
| "New Old Trucks" (with Dierks Bentley) | 2021 | 63 | 1 | — | MC: Gold | Non-album singles |
| "Wastin' Whiskey" | 2022 | 67 | 2 | — | MC: Gold | Non-album singles |
| "Meet Your Mama" | 2023 | 85 | 1 | — | MC: Gold | Ahead of Our Time |
| "On the Water" (featuring Dalton Dover) | 2023 | — | 6 | — | | Ahead of Our Time |
| "Ahead of Our Time" | 2023 | — | 9 | — | | Ahead of Our Time |
| "Your Mama Would Hate Me" (with Dean Brody) | 2024 | — | 19 | — | | TBA |
| "You Didn't Hear It from Me" | 2025 | — | 14 | — | | TBA |
| "—" 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" | 2022 | Non-album singles |
| "Rain All Summer" | 2022 | Non-album singles |
| "Champagne" | 2023 | Ahead of Our Time |

### Music videos

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

## Awards and nominations

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