British country act, The Shires have announced they will be setting out on a UK Tour in Spring 2017, per The Enquirer. The Tour will take in 11 dates in total between the 18th April and 2nd May next year.
The Shires released their second album, ‘My Universe’ in September which became the fastest-selling UK Country album of all time, eventually reaching number 3 in the charts. The band, made up of singer-songwriters Ben Earle and Crissie Rhodes, were excited about the prospect of their already huge 2016 transforming into an even bigger 2017, ‘We are so happy to be hitting the road again in 2017 – we love playing in the UK, the audience for UK country is growing and growing and every tour and show we do, we see more and more new faces! It’s been such an amazing year but we can’t wait to get started on the next, bring on 2017!’
Their amazing chart success wasn’t the only good news for The Shires in 2016 as the band became the first UK act to sing for renowned Nashville-based country music label, the Big Machine Group. They also toured America, Australia as well as the UK and will presumably be hoping their homeland can live up to all their overseas jaunts this time around. Crissie Rhodes spoke to The Lancashire Telegraph last month about the band’s whirlwind year, ‘It has all been a bit hectic recently. We flew across the Pacific, we turned right and kept going. We went to Australia and then to America and then back home – it’s really cool. It’s been an amazing journey. We can’t believe we get to do what we love every day.’
Country music hasn’t traditionally had the foothold in the UK that it has in the US, and indeed Ben Earle, one half of the band, has only been a recent convert to the genre when Crissie introduced him to it four years ago. The pair seem excited not only about their own future, but about the future of UK Country music though, ‘There are so many different styles with country music, there is something for everybody and it seems as though the UK is really embracing it. Country has evolved so much recently and festivals like C2C (held in London in March) highlight the different genres. It’s so exciting, there is so much going on. Ben and I come from different backgrounds musically, I’ve loved country for a long time but we’re both just as passionate about it now. We are always telling each other about new artists or songs we’ve heard.’
Whether you were already a fan or have been convinced want to check out the new rising stars, and rising genre, of British music, then you can check out the full tour schedule below:
18/4 – Winter Gardens – Blackpool
19/4 – Beach Ballroom – Aberdeen
20/4 – Usher Hall – Edinburgh
23/4 – Pavilion Theatre – Bournemouth
24/4 – G Live – Guildford
25/4 – Warwick Arts Centre – Coventry
27/4 – Cliffs Pavilion – Southend
28/4 – Leas Cliff Hall – Folkestone
30/4 – Royal Concert Hall – Nottingham
1/5 – Regent – Ipswich
2/5 – Palladium – London
