James Barker Band

Centered around singer and guitarist James Barker, the James Barker Band brings together a core of musicians from Woodville, Ontario, active on the Canadian country scene since the mid-2010s. The lineup—James Barker, Taylor Abram, Bobby Martin, and Connor Stephen—crafts contemporary country with pop and rock inflections, marked by melodic choruses, prominent electric guitars, and lyrics focused on everyday life, small towns, and relationships. Discovered after a showcase competition at the Boots and Hearts festival in 2015, the James Barker Band gained nationwide recognition with a string of radio singles before releasing the EP Game On in 2017 on Universal Music Canada, followed by Singles Only in 2019, which cemented their presence on major stages and club tours. Since then, the band has strengthened its ties with Nashville, expanded its concert schedule in Canada and the United States, and recorded the track “New Old Trucks” in collaboration with American artist Dierks Bentley, confirming an aesthetic that straddles radio-friendly country and a more rock-leaning sound built for live performance.