The Canadian country act James Barker Band was formed by frontman James Barker, Taylor Abram, Connor Stephen, and Bobby Martin in Woodville, Ontario. Launched in 2015, they earned a national audience after winning the Emerging Artist Showcase at the Boots and Hearts Music Festival that summer, then signed with Universal Music Canada one year later. Game On, the group's debut EP, was released in 2017 and peaked at number 29 in Canada. It later went gold, its sales driven by three gold-certified singles — "Lawn Chair Lazy," "Just Sayin'," and "It's Working," all of which became Top 10 hits on the Canadian country charts — as well as the platinum-selling "Chills," which climbed to number 1. James Barker Band was named "Best New Group or Solo Artist: Country" at the 2017 Canadian Radio Music Awards, then won "Country Album of the Year" one year later at the 2018 Juno Awards. A second EP, Singles Only, followed in 2019 and produced another string of hits on the Canadian charts, including the number 6 hit "Good Together," the number 2 hit "There's a Drink for That," the number 21 release "Slow Down Town," and the platinum-certified chart-topper "Keep It Simple." JBB-Sides followed in 2020. Following a string of livestreams during the Covid-19 pandemic, the group released "Summer Time" in 2020. The song became James Barker Band's eighth single to crack the Top 20. One year later, the band announced a new partnership with Sony Music Nashville, kicking off the relationship with the single "Over All Over Again." Like "Chills" and "Keep It Simple," "Over All Over Again" climbed to number 1 on the Canadian country chart. After releasing the standalone singles "New Old Trucks" (2021) with Dierks Bentley and "Wastin' Whiskey" (2022), James Barker Band returned in 2023 with their fourth EP Ahead of Our Time, whose title track peaked at number 52 on the Canadian Top 50 Country Songs chart.
