“Soaring harmonies form the framework of The Shires’ songs, showering their captivating melodies with a richness that encapsulates the essence and romanticism of traditional country.” – The Line of Best Fit

“Crissie and Ben have perfected the euphoria of Taylor Swift’s early style… Here’s to 10 more years.” – 4* Sunday Express

 “Another breakthrough singalong anthem to add to the duo’s ever-growing collection of timeless tunes.” – Wonderland

“The Shires have become the face of UK country music, the champions… 10 Year Plan is for us, their best album yet.” – Building Our Own Nashville

Today, UK country duo The Shires release their new single Cut Me Loose. Now we say new, but this song has actually been recorded for many years.

In an interview that we did with Ben and Crissie around the release of their top 5 album 10 Year Plan, Crissie and Ben said of the song;

Ben; Cut Me Loose Crissie has been campaigning for to have on the record for years. That song is very Crissie and was actually written around the time of album two. That was for album two wasn’t it Crissie?

Crissie – I literally fell in love with that song. We recorded that song for the My Universe album and at the time we both had our dad songs on there (Daddy’s Little Girl and Everything You Never Gave) that we individually sang but that was a song (Cut Me Loose) that was me, just me completely singing and it wasn’t quite right for that album at the time but I think it fits really nicely on this one.

Read our full interview here.

And another note Crissie said of the song not from our interview was;

Crissie; 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 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).

As well as releasing the song, The Shires have also released a video for it. Check it out below;

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 began an extensive UK headline tour last night in Weymouth which 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

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