The Shires are the UK’s biggest country music export. Their achievements speak for themselves: three consecutive UK Top 3 albums, four #1 UK Country albums, 100 million+ streams, two Gold-certified records, and countless sold-out headline shows, including filling the prestigious Royal Albert Hall. Now The Shires announce the release of their soul-stirring new album ‘10 Year Plan’ out on 11th March 2022 and launch it by sharing its lead single ‘I See Stars’. Listen below.

Premiered on Zoe Ball’s Breakfast Show on Radio 2 this morning, ‘I See Stars’ is symbolic of The Shires’ pop-orientated, crowd-pleasing, full-passion, global-facing take on the country tradition. The duo’s Ben Earle wrote the song with Jeff Cohen (Jake Bugg, Mandy Moore, Sugarland), who previously collaborated on their fan favourites ‘Daddy’s Little Girl’ and ‘A Thousand Hallelujahs’.

Ben says, “We love the Coldplay/‘Greatest Showman’ vibes on this! it’s not trying to be clever, it’s just really uplifting and big and positive. It’s another one that has arena vibes – I can picture us being up there on a massive stage with everyone singing along.”

‘I See Stars’ is a bold introduction to ‘10 Year Plan’, a collection of songs which takes all of The Shires’ biggest influences and condenses them into one cohesive, confident record. Its title harks back to their modest goals when they first started back in 2012.

As Crissie Rhodes reflects, “We wanted to get our music to Bob Harris, and we wanted a thousand Facebook followers. At the time that seemed crazy, but Ben was committed to it.” He was proven right, as Chrissie continues: “The number of people enjoying country music has exploded in the UK, but it still feels like an undercurrent. Even recently, we’ve had people come to our shows and say they were surprised, because they didn’t think country was for them!”

From the early Taylor Swift / Lady A country-pop euphoria of the opener ‘Cut Me Loose’ to the classic pedal steel guitar of the timeless closer ‘When It Hurts’, ‘10 Year Plan’ demonstrates that country delivered with ambition and accomplishment can cut through such stereotypes. In fact, that’s something the duo display on every corner, whether they’re layering their lush harmonies on ‘Sparks Fly’ and ‘Bar Without You’, collaborating with Beth McCarthy on the Civil Wars-tinged ‘Plot Twist’, or delivering rousing anthems such as ‘Skydive’.

‘10 Year Plan’ is now available to pre-order. Formats include CD, LP, SD & HD digital.

Currently completing an intimate acoustic tour, The Shires will commence a major UK headline tour in April that culminates with a landmark London show at The Palladium on May 24th. Please see their website for a full list of dates and ticket details.

The Shires first broke through in 2014 with their single ‘Nashville Grey Skies’, a playful song about Britain needing its own country scene. And that’s something which they helped happen, starting with their 2015 debut ‘Brave’, which became the first ever Top 10 album by a UK country music artist. That success continued with a succession of hit albums: 2016’s ‘My Universe’, 2018’s ‘Accidentally On Purpose’ and 2020’s ‘Good Years’.

Their authenticity saw them embraced by the Nashville scene, leading to two CMA Awards. Meanwhile, other touring highlights included the C2C Festival and shows as guests to Carrie Underwood, Little Big Town and The Corrs. Here’s to the next 10 years…

‘10 Year Plan’ tracklist:

1. ‘Cut Me Loose’
2. ‘Sparks Fly’
3. ‘Side By Side’
4. ‘Plot Twist’
5. ‘Ten Year Plan’
6. ‘I See Stars’
7. ‘Bar Without You’
8. ‘Baby We’re Rich’
9. ‘Skydive’
10. ‘Wild Heart’
11. ‘Forever Tonight’
12. ‘Peggy I’m Sorry’
13. ‘When It Hurts’

2022 TOUR DATES:

January 

27th Sunderland, UK, The Fire Station

28th Stroud, UK, The Sub Rooms

February 

1st Glasgow, UK, Saint Luke’s

April

21st Weymouth, UK , Weymouth Pavilion – SOLD OUT

22nd Aberystwyth, UK, Aberystwyth Arts Centre Great Hall

23rd Cardiff, UK, St David’s Hall

25th Brighton, UK, Brighton Hall

27th Basingstoke, UK, The Anvil

28th Torquay, UK, Princess Theatre

30th Stoke On Trent, UK, Victoria Hall Stoke

May

1st Bristol, UK o2 Academy Bristol

2nd Liverpool, UK, Liverpool Philharmonic Hall

4th Carlisle, UK, Sands Centre

5th Gateshead, UK, Sage Gateshead

6th York, UK, York Barbican – SOLD OUT

8th Edinburgh, UK, The Liquid Room – SOLD OUT

9th Aberdeen, UK, Beach Ballroom

11th Lincoln, UK, Engine Shed

12th Folkestone, UK, Leas Cliff Hall

13th Bedford, UK, Bedford Corn Exchange

15th Cambridge, UK, Corn Exchange

16th Manchester, UK, The Bridgewater Hall

17th Birmingham, UK, Symphony Hall

19th Oxford, UK, New Theatre Oxford

20th Guildford, UK, Guildford G Live – SOLD OUT

21st Ipswich, UK, Regent Theatre

23rd Nottingham, UK, Nottingham Royal Centre

24th London, UK, The London Palladium

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Author: Andrew Braithwaite

Andrew is the founder and Managing Director of Music Talkers. He's also a keen music enthusiast and plays the guitar.