James Barker Band bassist Bobby Martin reflects on a milestone year, life on the road, and his personal journey to quitting smoking.
It’s been an incredible year for Canadian country favourites James Barker Band, and bassist Bobby Martin has plenty to celebrate, both professionally and personally.
The chart-topping group recently hosted the 2026 Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) Awards, where they entered the night with five nominations, including Entertainer of the Year, Album of the Year, and Fans’ Choice. The band walked away with two awards, adding another memorable achievement to an already busy year that included touring across Europe.
But beyond the awards, performances, and life on the road, Martin has another story to share.
With November marking Lung Cancer Awareness Month, Martin is opening up about his experience with smoking addiction, the challenges of quitting, and the lifestyle changes that helped him take control of his health.
After years of smoking, including during his early days as a touring musician, Martin made the decision to quit for good. Now, through his appearance on The Big Quit Podcast by Nicorette, he’s hoping his experience will encourage others who are considering making a similar change.
We caught up with Bobby Martin to discuss James Barker Band’s milestone year, the realities of touring, his journey to quitting smoking, and what’s next for the group.
Bobby Martin James Barker Band Interview: A Milestone Year
First off, congratulations on an incredible year for James Barker Band! Between hosting the 2026 CCMA Awards and earning five nominations, it’s been a pretty exciting time. What has been the biggest highlight for you personally?
Thank you so much. Its been probably one of the busiest years of our bands career especially coming off our headline tour last fall rolling into the new year. We always say the cliché “its better to be busy than bored” and honestly its so true.. It was great leaving the CCMA’s winning two awards this year, and regaining our fans choice title again, but my favorite moment of 2026 has got to be Europe. Getting to tour the world and having the opportunity to see so many new countries is something I’ll never take for granted.
You’ve spent years touring and performing with James Barker Band. What’s something about life on the road that fans might be surprised to learn?
Something that always surprises them is how boring backstage is lol Everybody always wants to come “party” and thinks that its some crazy experience when in reality it’s a hockey dressing room, old used couches and chips and salsa.. All of us being married, majority with kids, things are a lot different than they were 10 years ago.. its pretty tame and we spend a lot of the time with just our touring and road family and other artists and their camps. The “Tour bus” is always looked at some big fancy spectacle but we always laugh and say its just a big old travelling dorm room of socks and dirty laundry.. Road life definitely ISNT for everybody.
Bobby Martin James Barker Band Interview: His Journey to Quitting Smoking
November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month, and you’ve decided to open up about your personal experience with smoking and quitting. What made you feel that now was the right time to share your story?
With November being Lung Cancer Awareness Month, it feels like a good opportunity to have an honest conversation about it. I know how powerful a smoking addiction can be, and I hope other people can hear my experience with it and be inspired to start their own journey by cutting back and eventually quitting smoking all together. That’s what I wanted to share on The Big Quit Podcast by Nicorette — not just that I quit, but also that everyone can find the support they need to quit on their own terms.
Can you take us back to when you first started smoking, what made you decide to quit, and some of the challenges you faced along the way, especially while touring?
I was actually very anti-smoking growing up. My parents smoked, and I used to rip up their cigarette packs because I was worried about them. Then, towards the end of high school, I started going to parties and hanging around the smoking crew. A lot of my musical heroes smoked, too, and I thought it was cool. Once we were playing bars, I’d smoke between sets and tell myself it helped my nerves. There’s also a lot of downtime backstage, so it became part of the routine. I quit for about a year at one point, but then picked it up again. Eventually I began questioning whether smoking and drinking were helping with my anxiety or adding to it.
Was there a particular moment or experience that motivated you to quit for good?
Everybody always remembers the night where they pushed the limits “TOO MUCH” and quit something instantly and for me, with learning those lessons the hard way, I’ve come to learn that I’m either all in on something or not at all. I remember being at a Christmas party and smoking so much that I felt terrible the next morning. I told myself I wasn’t going to smoke again. I’d already been thinking about making changes for my health and my relationships, and that was the point where I really committed to it. For me, building a streak helped — getting through a few days, then a few months, and wanting to keep that going. Quitting smoking has been one of the best decisions I’ve made for my health.
Bobby Martin James Barker Band Interview: The Big Quit Podcast
You recently participated in The Big Quit podcast by Nicorette, sharing your experience with quitting smoking. What was that experience like, and what do you hope listeners take away from your story?
Being on The Big Quit Podcast with Nicorette was a chance to talk about a side of my health journey that people might not see on stage or on social media. I talked about everything from growing up worried about my parents smoking to how it became part of my own life as a musician. We often don’t realize the real addiction behind smoking cigarettes, and this was a platform to have an important conversation about it and importantly how I can inspire other people to make that health choice for themselves by just sharing my experience. What I hope people take away from the podcast is that everyone’s path to quitting smoking is different. I’m very careful and picky about what I share to my followers and I truly want to always focus on spreading positivity and being REAL. Getting to work with Nicorette has been such an easy partnership because it’s something I genuinely believe in and can help people more than they might know and if I’m that catalyst that can help somebody quit, even if it’s just one person, I can go to sleep at night knowing I did something good.
For someone reading this who wants to quit smoking but is struggling to take that first step, what would you want them to know based on your own experience?
I’d say never give up. You don’t have to struggle with taking that first step on your own. You can use things like Nicorette to manage those tough cravings. I still think about smoking, so I don’t pretend that quitting means you never think about it again. It’s about regaining control over your life and your health – that’s the long-term goal.
Bobby Martin James Barker Band Interview: What’s Next for the Band?
Looking ahead, what’s next for you and James Barker Band? Is there anything exciting on the horizon that fans should be watching for?
We are always working. Whether its on new music, the live show, social media the work never ends.. We have one of the biggest opportunities of our careers coming up with headlining the TSN Kickoff Party on live TV and we have really been dialing in nailing this performance. A lot of work goes into these types of things and then if we can crush this performance, we go right into stepping into the circle again for our 2nd appearance at The Grand Ole Opry. Two big looks within a few weeks. It’s good pressure to have but we know we have to deliver! New music is coming in 2027 and who knows maybe some tours.
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