The Shires - Cause For A Celebration With Ten Year Plan

A wedding proposal is not what you might expect at a concert but that unusual occurrence happened when country music duo, The Shires, played Pocklington Arts Centre a few years ago. Ben Earle from the country music duo explained: “We were playing a concert there when a member of the audience came up on stage and asked if his girlfriend would marry him, thankfully she said yes”.

With a new album entitled 10 Year Plan and a tour in the spring, Ben Earle and Chrissie Rhodes are understandably excited about the future. It is a time for Ben to contemplate and reminisce. “With the pandemic, Chrissie and I had time to reflect on our success over the last ten years.”

“When we first started we did not have a plan, our aim was just to get our songs played on the radio which we eventually achieved. Concerts then followed, we never expected to be as successful as we have been, we are so excited about being able to go out on tour again”

Over the years The Shires has supported many of their heroes, I was interested to know who they have shared a stage with. Ben told me, “We did a tour supporting The Corrs, I grew up listening to their songs and to be supporting them on an arena tour was like a dream come true.” The experience did have a bittersweet feel as Ben revealed: “I actually split up with a girlfriend to What Can I Do, so to hear them singing the song when we were on tour was a very poignant moment.”

There have been other top acts The Shires have supported. “The Shania Twain tour was really memorable as her approach to a live concert was very different to what we had done before. She had a massive stage set and for our support slot we were performing on top of these big boxes,” Ben enthused.

Ben disclosed that the audience was not as might have been expected from country music fans. “We thought country music would be our audience, but in the UK she tends to have more pop fans than country fans so that came as a surprise to both of us."

The Shires music has held a special place in the hearts of their fans who often come up to Ben at unexpected moments, such as when he is out shopping. “Fans often start talking to me like a friend, so I have to ask if I know them? It transpires they are a fan and they tell me how our music has meant so much to them. We have such a special relationship with our fans, who to us, are the best in the world.”

Even the school run is not without occurrence for Ben these days. “The other parents were not aware of what my job was, eventually they found out. After that we did a concert at Milton Keynes and the guest list included forty couples all from the school run!”

Over the years country music has become more popular, so, I asked Ben for his thoughts. “It has never been perceived to be cool music; when Kylie recorded her album with a country influence it was a massive turning point for the genre. People can understand the breadth in our music and for myself it reminds me of songs I grew up listening to.”

Apparently even Adele is a fan of country music. “I am waiting for Adele to record a country music album as I hear she is a massive fan, you never know, it might just happen,” Ben tells me.

Whilst that might be in the future, for now The Shires is eager to get back out on tour with the north being a special place for them. “Our spring tour takes us to some of venues we love to visit such as to Manchester's Bridgewater Hall, York Barbican and not forgetting the Brudenell Social Club in Leeds, where we are performing a special album launch show. When you see the posters of all the big acts that have played there you realise what an iconic venue it is.”

Being adored by your fans is in itself a big achievement but to be recognised by your peers is also an accolade something that has resonated with The Shires and delighted Ben. “We were taken by surprise when we won an award at the Country Music Awards as it also opened up a door to get our music played on county music radio stations in America, this was a big recognition for both of us.”

The new album is not the only imminent arrival for Ben and his partner. “We are expecting a baby which is due four days after the end of the tour. I already have two boys - River and Tennessee.”

“We are in a great place to be right now, we have five albums worth of material to choose from for our tours. On our first tour we only had the one album so we had to do some cover versions, we cannot wait to get back out there. No medium gets the impact you receive when playing a live concert - we see fans crying on the front row to the sadder songs, on the other hand when we sing 1,000 Hallelujahs they are up on their feet and let their inhibitions go, it feels like having your best birthday party every night.

Whether it is a birthday party or a wedding proposal, it appears The Shires have plenty to celebrate - here’s to the next ten years.

The new album 10 Year Plan was released on Friday 11th March.