The Shires’ status as the UK’s biggest country music export has continued with the release of their new album ‘10 Year Plan’. The album went straight to #5 on the UK’s Official Album Chart, making it their fourth consecutive Top 5 album. All five of their studio albums have hit #1 on the UK Country charts, resulting in over 100 million streams, two Gold-certified albums and another that reached Silver status.

Now The Shires line up a big summer of touring as they share the new single ‘Cut Me Loose’. Watch the video below.

‘Cut Me Loose’ is a colourful blast of country-pop euphoria that recalls early classics by Taylor Swift and Lady A. The song is ignited with the joyous rush of its chorus, as licks of pedal steel guitar are complemented by thunderous percussion. It’s a song that provides the space for Crissie Rhodes to showcase her astounding voice as she belts out its hook with raw passion.

The song was produced by Lindsay Rimes (Kelsea Ballerini, Kane Brown), and was written by Justin Ebach (Luke Bryan, Dan + Shay) and Lizzy McAvoy (her second collaboration with The Shires after co-writing ‘Speechless’ with Ben Earle).

Crissie says, “Ben was at a bar in Nashville at a writer’s round and saw someone singing this song, back in 2015. He loved it, and we ended up recording it all those years ago, but it never quite fit on any of our previous records. And I just championed it, I asked if we could have it on this album – I love to sing it so much, it’s an absolute jam. It’s also interesting that if you listen to our first two albums, we share vocals on each track pretty equally, but now we give one another opportunities to take the lead, and that’s the case here with me.”

The Shires release ‘Cut Me Loose’ alongside a performance video, which demonstrates just how explosive the song will be at future live shows. Crissie’s voice is pure power and passion, while Ben’s backing vocals add another touch of class as he leads a full live band. ‘Cut Me Loose’ is the fourth live video that The Shires filmed during sessions at The Roost in Hackney, London with director Jackson Ducasse (Dua Lipa, James Bay, Clean Bandit) after ‘Wild Hearts’ and ‘I See Stars’.

‘10 Year Plan’ sees The Shires - Ben Earle and Crissie Rhodes - taking all of their biggest influences and condensing them into one cohesive, confident record. Greeted by diverse critical acclaim which has included tastemaker media, daily newspapers and country specialists, the album has also been supported with ongoing airplay at Radio 2 (an A-list, Album of the Week, a Record of the Week for ‘I See Stars’, and premieres from Zoe Ball and Bob Harris) and a special daytime TV appearance on ‘This Morning’. 

The Shires begin an extensive UK headline tour next month that culminates with a prestigious show at the London Palladium. Their summer festival schedule is also taking shape. They will headline the Castell Roc Music Festival and will play A Perfect Day Festival on a line-up featuring David Gray, James Morrison, Tom Odell and many more. Remaining tickets for the shows, listed below, are available here.

APRIL - HEADLINE TOUR

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, Dome

27th                     Basingstoke, UK, The Anvil

28th                    Torquay, UK, Princess Theatre

30th                     Stoke On Trent, UK, Victoria Hall Stoke

MAY - HEADLINE TOUR

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

JULY

3rd Exeter, A Perfect Day Festival

AUGUST

29th Chepstow, Castell Roc Music Festival - HEADLINERS

Author: Andrew Braithwaite

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