Niverville’s Old Tyme Country Fair has announced that the James Barker Band will headline this year’s fair, scheduled to open June 7–8. The James Barker Band will hit the mainstage Saturday night.
The James Barker Band only came together six years ago, but in that time they’ve taken the country music world by storm. Their most recent single, “Good Together,” was the most-spun Canadian country music song of 2018.
The quartet, hailing from Ontario, previously won the Boots and Hearts Emerging Artist Showcase in 2015 and were signed to Universal Music Canada soon after. They then returned to the Showcase in 2016 to open for Thomas Rhett.
The Old Tyme Country Fair has a great history of supporting Canadian bands, previously hosting artists such as Brett Kissel, Aaron Pritchett, and Washboard Union.
Canadian country artists are picking up steam across the border, too, with more and more of them being played on American radio. The James Barker Band’s first number-one Canadian country radio hit, “Chills,” reached the forty-seventh spot on the American airwaves in 2018, making them the first Canadian country artist not signed to a U.S. label to make it that high.
The group has won a number of awards, including Single of the Year and Best-Selling Canadian Single at the 2018 Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) Awards. They also took home the Country Album of the Year award at the 2018 Junos.
Kendra Kay, a Manitoban, will open for the headlining band on Saturday night. The small-town country girl comes with big vocals and a five-piece band, as well as her own set of accolades. Kay was recognized with the 2018 Manitoba Country Music Association Fan’s Choice Award and the 2019 Canadian Independent Music Video of the Year Award for Best Country Video. Her high-energy songs are the perfect way to kick off this year’s Saturday night concert.
