The Shires
Five years since they were discovered playing a gig in a Bedfordshire pub, Ben Earle and Crissie Rhodes are now raising the bar in Nashville. Indeed, thanks to their two gold-certified record-breaking albums, Brave and My Universe, The Shires have become one of the most talked about acts in the home of country music.
And now to the delight of their legions of fans on both sides of the Atlantic, they’ve released their eagerly-anticipated third album Accidentally on Purpose, recorded in Nashville, which won over a whole new mainstream audience with its fusion with pop.
The duo are most excited by track Guilty, which they feel best sums of their new sound. “We both like to socialise, we’re both young and enjoy having a good time and going out with our friends,” explains Crissie. “We wanted to reflect that in our music so Guilty is definitely a sign of a change for us. It’s the kind of song I’d play before going out.”
Perhaps the best illustration of why The Shires have become huge players in music, and not just country, is how some of the world’s top writers want to work with them – and they don’t come much bigger than Ed Sheeran. The global superstar provided his song ‘Stay The Night’ for their third album after seeking out Ben and Crissie at his Nashville concert last October.