Nashville, Tenn. – Today (10/8), multi-award winning country group James Barker Band (JBB) releases “New Old Trucks” featuring milti-platinum entertainer global superstar Dierks Bentley. On the heels of scoring their third No. 1 single in Canada, “Over All Over Again,” the Villa 40/Sony Music Nashville entertainers team up for the first time with 14-time Grammy nominee Bentley. This anthem for truck enthusiasts is available now at all music digital service providers and everywhere music is sold. Listen HERE.
“New Old Trucks” is the culmination of some of the industry’s top songwriters who happened to be truck lovers getting together for a writing session. Written by James Barker, Jordan Minton (Keith Urban, Dan & Shay), Hunter Phelps (Florida Georgia Line) and Casey Brown (Russell Dickerson), all grew up in rural country areas. Their session was as much about reflecting on driving with their dads, buying their first trucks and remembering the smell of old leather interiors, as it was about composing the new song.
“We were so surprised no one had written this song yet,” said JBB frontman James Barker. “When we got in the room to write a few months ago, two of us actually came separately with this exact idea so we knew we had something good. When writing songs you always want every lyric to be true but sometimes you have to stretch things a bit. That wasn’t the case with this – every lyric was something one of us had experienced; the first line is actually about my first truck.”
Today’s release marks a full circle moment for James Barker Band as they come together with Dierks Bentley, an artist that they have looked up to since starting the band in 2014. The four-piece has covered a number of songs by Bentley throughout their sets over the years and had the chance to the play with the multi-ACM and CMA winning artist in 2016 during a show at Boots and Bourbon in Toronto. After just one listen of “New Old Trucks,” Bentley knew he wanted to be a part of the track. “We can’t thank him enough for going so far out of his way to champion us and make us feel like we mattered even when we were still just a band scrapping for tips every night,” said Barker.
“I’ve tried to write a few songs over the years that reflect how I feel about my ‘94 Chevy truck, and why I’ve never gotten a new one,” said Bentley. “After hearing this song however, I knew I’d never try to write one again…this song says it all. I’m honored that the James Barker Band invited me to be a part of it. It hits home with me big time.”
Earlier this spring, James Barker Band announced signing with Villa 40/Sony Music Nashville and released “Over All Over Again,” the first track as part of their new label relationship. Recently, JBB received news of their 2021 CCMA nominated group nomination for Interactive Artist of the Year. Amassing over 205 million global streams to date, the band toured extensively in Canada and the U.S. the last four months, while continuing their successful livestream series on JBB’s Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and TikTok social media channels. The livestream series culminated with their 150th show on September 27.