Formed in 1985 by three siblings of the Timmins family plus bassist Alan Anton, Cowboy Junkies recorded their first album - Whites Off Earth Now!! - in the family garage. It wasn't until their second album that they started to make a real impact, picking up a cult following with their mix of blues, country, folk, rock and jazz. The Trinity Session was named as one of the best albums of 1988 by the Los Angeles Times. They were then nominated as Group of the Year at the Juno Awards in 1990 and 1991.

They released a number of albums throughout the 90s and 00s, and whilst they didn't achieve significant mainstream success they retained a dedicated following and are hugely popular within the alternative rock community. They have toured North America, Europe, Japan and Australia and in 2001 alone they performed at 108 different venues in 15 countries. Extensive North American and European tours followed album releases in 2002 and 2004.

The Cowboy Junkies have included many guest musicians on their recordings and concert tours including Kim Deschamps (steel guitarist, Blue Rodeo), Jaro Czerwinec (accordionist), Jeff Bird (violin, harmonica, organ, 8-string bass, percussion and mandolin), Karin Bergquist (singer and acoustic guitar), Ken Myhr (singer and acoustic guitar), David Houghton (percussion), John Prine (singer), Linford Detweiler (organist), Dave Allen (fiddle), and Richard Bell (piano and organ).

Their most recent work is the Nomad Series, an 18-month cycle that aimed to produce four albums built around common (but separate) narratives. Renmin Park: The Nomad Series, Vol. 1 was released in 2010. Following closely on its heels was 2011's Demons: The Nomad Series, Vol. 2, a covers album featuring songs originally written by the late Vic Chesnutt, the band's longtime friend and occasional tourmate. The third volume, Sing in My Meadow, released later in 2011, featured a live, garage rock sound, while the fourth, The Wilderness, features new songs and completes the ambitious Nomad Series project.