The Shires

On 15 November 2026 at Lighthouse, Poole’s Centre for the Arts, in Poole, The Shires bring their British take on country-pop. Since 2013, Ben Earle and Crissie Rhodes have shaped songs that fold Nashville storytelling into a UK voice. Formed after a Facebook message, the duo found early support on BBC Radio 2 and at C2C: Country to Country, before becoming the first UK country act to sign with a major Nashville label. Rooted in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, they write about relationships and everyday turns, carried by Rhodes’ lead lines and Earle’s harmonies. Albums Brave (2015), My Universe (2016), Accidentally on Purpose (2018), Good Years (2020) and 10 Year Plan (2022) map that path and fuel their live sets. Years on the road with Little Big Town, The Corrs, Shania Twain, Carrie Underwood, Tom Jones and Tears for Fears have tightened their interplay and linked the UK country scene with its Nashville counterparts. This date gathers those threads in a show built on melody, narrative and close-knit vocals.