Page 14 - Phonebox Magazine October 2015

The Buzz
The Shires on festivals, Nashville and coming home to Bedfordshire
Less than three years ago, The Shires’ Ben Earle was ready to give up on his dream. Having enjoyed moderate success in the music industry as
a singer and songwriter, he was facing an uncertain future.
“I was really frustrated with music, and I’d had enough,” he explains, “I applied for a job and to university. I just thought I couldn’t do it anymore.”
Ben made one last ditch attempt by asking for any country singers on Facebook, and wedding singer Crissie Rhodes got in touch. In March this year they released their first album, Brave, becoming the first country act to reach the UK album chart’s Top 10. The first UK act signed to the Decca Nashville label, they’re from close to home - Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire.
Their debut song, Nashville Grey Skies, was all about singing country music in the UK.
“I heard Need You Now by Lady Antebellum and it changed everything for me. It resonated so much with me,” adds Ben.
“I started listening to similar artists on Spotify and I loved it. Crissie had always listened to country music, but for me it only began a few years ago.”
This year they’re heading out on their first headline tour, finishing at London’s Shepherd’s Bush. Firstly, they’re heading home to Bedford Corn Exchange to perform on October 1st, and Northampton’s Roadmender on the 16th. “Crissie is from Bedfordshire and I live near
Luton now, so playing the Bedford and Milton Keynes area is like coming home for us. “We’ve been to the Corn Exchange before and it’s always a lot of fun. We’ve had fans from the area who’ve supported us from day one.”
A summer of festival performances means The Shires have performed to thousands across the country, offering up plenty of pinch me moments for the duo.
“We played the Larmer Tree Festival, and we were performing to 4000 people and on the same bill as Sir Tom Jones. It’s unbelievable,’ laughs Ben.
“It was at a stately home with gardens, and at one point a peacock jumped on the front of the stage! It was great. We loved it.
It’s amazing; it’s an incredible feeling when the crowds sing the songs back at you, when you’ve put so much effort into them. We can see people singing along to us.”
Having been to plenty of festivals as a punter, it’s completely new experience for Ben.
He adds: “When we played Glastonbury on the Acoustic Stage it was something we had dreamed of for years.
“About 15 minutes before we went on there was about 100 people and I said to the band, who looked, ‘don’t tell me, I don’t want to know”. Then we walked out to about 3000 people, which became 4000. That was a really special moment.
“Our friend Sam, who plays Gunnar in Nashville, joined us. We feel so lucky to be
doing all this. It’s all happened so quickly.” The Shires have been described as having “their hearts in the Home Counties and their heads in Nashville, Tennessee”, with their music clearly influenced from the America country music city. They even recorded their album there.
Ben explains: “We really loved that music, and it’s growing so much in the UK. We knew we wanted to record in Nashville, and it was such an incredible place to be. As a song writer, it felt like being at home.”
It was while performing at Country 2 Country at London’s O2, Ben and Crissie heard about making the album chart’s top 10.
“We had no idea whether we would sell one
Entertainment listings
Hairspray, MK Theatre, until 3rd
Milton Jones and The Temple of the
Daft, MK Theatre, 1st
Jenny Éclair, The Stables, 1st
James Acaster, Royal & Derngate, 1st
Frankly Sinatra, MK Theatre, 2nd
Mostly Autumn, The Stables, 2nd
A Golden Gala of Music, Royal & Derngate, 2nd Paddy McGuinness, MK Theatre, 3rd
Morgan and West Utterly Spiffing Spectacular Magic Show, The Stables, 3rd
Fleetwood Bac, The Stables, 3rd
Henning When, Royal & Derngate, 3rd
Motown’s Greatest Hits, MK Theatre, 4th
Stars from The Commitments, The Stables, 4th
Tom Baxter, The Stables, 5th
UB40, MK Theatre, 6th
Wishbone Ash, The Stables, 6th
The Fresh Dixie Project, The Stables, 6th
Trevor Noah, Royal & Derngate, 6th
The Buddy Holly Story, Royal & Derngate, 7th
Roots & Herbs: The Blakey Project, The Stables, 8th Philip Hendry & Hannah Martin, The Stables, 8th Paddy McGuinness, Royal & Derngate, 8th
Legend: Tribute to Bob Marley, The Stables, 9th
Jill Barber, The Stables, 9th
Steve Hackett, Royal & Derngate, 9th
Starsailor, The Roadmender, 9th
Sing-a-long Frozen, MK Theatre, 10th
Pasadena Roof Orchestra, The Stables, 10th Jordan Reyne, The Stables, 10th
Dancing Queen, Royal & Derngate, 10th
Steve Forbet, The Stables, 10th
Hello Kitty, Royal & Derngate, 10th
King Charles III, MK Theatre, 12-17th
Bruce Cockburn, The Stables, 13th
All Star ‘60s, Royal & Derngate, 13th
Yiddish Twist Orchestra, The Stables, 14th
The Rails, The Stables, 14th
The Irish House Party, Bedford Corn Exchange, 14th Beardyman, The Stables, 15th
Preston Reed, The Stables, 15th
Matt Monro Junior, Bedford Corn Exchange, 15th Gaslight, Royal & Derngate, 16th- November 7th Viva Santana, The Stables, 16th
4 Square, The Stables, 16th
Show of Hands, Royal & Derngate, 16th
Company MK, Chrysalis Theatre, 17-25th
Charlie Landsborough, The Stables, 17th
An Evening with Judy Collins, The Stables, 18th
Marcus Malone Band, The Stables, 18th Joanne Shaw Taylor, The Stables, 19th Focus, The Stables, 20th
Richard Alston Dance, Royal & Derngate, 20th Yoruba Women Choir, The Stables, 21st Screaming Blue Murder, The Stables, 21st
Ed Byrne, Bedford Corn Exchange, 21st Vonda Shepard, The Stables, 22nd Stewart Francis, Royal & Derngate, 22nd Mugenkyo, The Stables, 23rd
Luke Jackson Trio, The Stables, 23rd
The Dreamboys, Bedford Corn Exchange, 23rd Sinatra: The Centennial Concert, The Stables, 24th Philharmonia Orchestra, Bedford Corn Exchange, 24th Georgie Fame, The Stables, 25th
Ian Parker, The Stables, 26th
Sister Act, Royal & Derngate, 27-31st
Nils Lofgren, The Stables, 28th
Dave Koz, The Stables, 29th
The Dreaming Spires, The Stables, 29th
Thank ABBA for the Music,
Bedford Corn Exchange, 29th
The Enid: Dust, The Stables, 30th
Albany Down, The Stables, 30th
Black Martis, The Stables, 31st
14 Phonebox Magazine