The Shires Artistfacts

2013-
Ben EarleHarmony vocals, piano, guitar
Crissie RhodesVocals
The Shires are an English country duo whose warm harmonies and Nashville-style storytelling with a distinctly British accent made them the face of UK country in the 2010s. Ben Earle and Crissie Rhodes turned a handful of early shows into record deals on both sides of the Atlantic, then kept scoring Top 10 albums at home, proving a British act could break into a genre long seen as strictly American.
Ben Earle had been a struggling songwriter for about 10 years when he posted on Facebook, "There must be a Country singer somewhere." Crissie Rhodes replied, and the two formed The Shires.

"We met on Facebook actually," Rhodes told Rock Shot magazine. "Ben had been songwriting for a long time but came into country more recently, and I was just a gigging singer. He put up this Facebook status saying 'there must be a female Country singer in the UK that wants to sing these songs with me,' and a mutual friend of ours tagged me into that status. With a little bit of research online, he messaged me and sent four of the songs he'd already written. I just absolutely loved them and we met up the next day, straight away."

Both Earle and Rhodes had previously auditioned for The X Factor.
The name comes from the traditional word "shires" for a UK county. Earle is from Hertfordshire and Rhodes is from Bedfordshire, so the choice honors both. Rhodes came up with it, and it was one of her first suggestions.

Naming a band, Earle told Rock Shot magazine, is "the most painful process, especially now with the internet," because nearly every name is taken. He admitted he thought it sounded "a bit Hobbity" at first, a nod to The Lord of the Rings.

Earle also noted that Americans pronounce it "the Shy-ers," while some Brits say "the Shars."
After only about half a dozen shows together, The Shires signed with Decca Records in the UK. They also landed a deal in America with Universal Music Group Nashville, the first time an English country act had signed with a major Nashville label.
Their debut album, Brave, reached #10 on the UK Albums Chart in 2015, making The Shires the first UK country act to score a Top 10 album. It went on to spend 44 weeks on the chart.
Following the success of Brave, The Shires became the first UK country act to perform at the Grand Ole Opry since the legendary radio show began in 1925.
Earle's first son, River, was born on the same day the duo played the Acoustic Stage at Glastonbury. Earle told UK Music Reviews his second son Tennessee's timing was "much better."

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