Brave

Singer-songwriters Ben Earle and Crissie Rhodes have certainly made an impact. After forming The Shires in 2013 the English country/pop duo have amassed an impressive array of radio, chart, and touring achievements. And they led the charge with their debut album Brave.

On the surface, The Shires have raced from 0 to 100mph in seconds flat. But for Ben and Crissie who hail from the neighbouring UK counties of Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, it has been a journey to get here. Ask them about any London dates in their first months together and they'll ask you back whether Watford, St. Albans and Biggleswade count. But behind that first impression lies the story of two musicians who've been working towards this moment for a long time.

Ben isn't shy of describing his years of dues-paying as a solo singer-songwriter, nor does Crissie deny her time of working the covers circuit as a vocalist, after she finished music college in Surrey and returned to her countryside roots.

"I'd been writing for nine, ten years, with a bit of minor success," says Ben, who was born in London and raised in Berkshire and then Somerset for a few years. In the early stages of his evolution, he had supported K.T. Tunstall on one of her first tours. "I'd reached the point where I was literally broke, and I put a thing on Facebook saying 'There must be a country singer somewhere.' But then a friend of a friend mentioned Crissie, she came round the next day, we recorded some songs and it's been so easy since then."

Powered by Crissie's powerful but subtle and supple vocals and Ben's perfectly complementary tones and acoustic guitar, The Shires have literally found a piece of country to call their own.