"Summer Time" is a 2020 song recorded by Canadian

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

group

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 six number one country singles with "Chills (James Bark ...

. It was co-written by the band's frontman James Barker, with Gavin Slate, Travis Wood, and producer

Todd Clark Pilot Speed (formerly known as Pilate) was a Canadian rock band, who were active in the early 2000s.Gerry Krochak, "Pilate strives for sincerity". ''Regina Leader-Post'', October 23, 2003. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the band consisted of vocali ...

Background

"Summer Time" was released amidst the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, following a run of seventy-five consecutive live stream shows online from the band. Frontman James Barker reflected on the importance of summer to Canadians and wanted to spread some optimism in the pandemic summer, saying "we hope ... fans connect with that nostalgic feeling of a more relaxed state of mind".

Critical reception

Katie Colley of ''

ET Canada ''Entertainment Tonight Canada'' (commonly shortened to ''ET Canada'') is a Canadian entertainment news television series that aired on the Global Television Network from 2005 to 2023. Its branding and format were based on the American entertainm ...

'' called the song "catchy", saying it puts you in the "summer spirit". ''93.7 JR Country'' referred to the track as a "summer anthem" and "sunshine for your ears", noting "shimmery guitar riffs and James Barker's warm vocals". Chris Parton of ''Sounds Like Nashville'' said the song is "purpose built for fun in the sun" with "breezy guitars" and "a foot-tapping beat", noting Barker's "bright, carefree vocal".

Commercial performance

"Summer Time" reached a peak of 15 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Canada Country The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

chart, marking the band's eighth Top 20 hit. It also charted at No. 24 on the

Hot Canadian Digital Songs The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

chart in the week after its release. The song has been certified Gold by

Music Canada Music Canada is a non-profit Industry trade group, trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 in Toronto to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It also offers benefits to s ...

Live performance

James Barker Band performed "Summer Time" live at the 2020 Canadian Country Music Awards, with the band being split into groups of two, performing from both

Oro-Medonte, Ontario Oro-Medonte is a township in south-central Ontario, Canada, on the northwestern shores of Lake Simcoe in Simcoe County. The Oro African Methodist Episcopal Church School was a rural segregated Black school established in 1849 in Oro-Medonte, O ...

and

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. The award show was broadcast live on

Global Global may refer to: General *Globe, a spherical model of celestial bodies *Earth, the third planet from the Sun Entertainment * ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003 * ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007 * ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 198 ...

in Canada, as well as on the Global App, and aired on several Corus radio stations in

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

and

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

. * James Barker – lead vocals, songwriting *

— backing vocals,

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

, guitar, keyboard, programming, songwriting * Dave Cohen – keyboard * Matty Green – mixing * Tony Lucido –

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

* Rob McNeeley – guitar * Andrew Mendelson – master engineering * Justin Ostrander – guitar * Jerry Roe – drums * Justin Schipper –

steel guitar A steel guitar () is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conventional guitar i ...

* Gavin Slate – backing vocals, guitar, programming, songwriting * Travis Wood – backing vocals, songwriting

Charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2020 songs 2020 singles James Barker Band songs Songs written by James Barker (singer) Songs written by Todd Clark Songs written by Gavin Slate Songs written by Travis Wood (songwriter) Song recordings produced by Todd Clark Universal Music Canada singles