The Shires share new single 'Cut Me Loose'

The Shires’ status as the UK’s biggest country music export has continued with the release of their new album ‘10 Year Plan’. The album went straight to #5 on the UK’s Official Album Chart, making it their fourth consecutive Top 5 album. All five of their studio albums have hit #1 on the UK Country charts, resulting in over 100 million streams, two Gold-certified albums and another that reached Silver status.

Now The Shires line up a big summer of touring as they share the new single ‘Cut Me Loose’. LISTEN HERE. WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW

‘Cut Me Loose’ is a colourful blast of country-pop euphoria that recalls early classics by Taylor Swift and Lady A. The song is ignited with the joyous rush of its chorus, as licks of pedal steel guitar are complemented by thunderous percussion. It’s a song that provides the space for Crissie Rhodes to showcase her astounding voice as she belts out its hook with raw passion.

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).

Crissie says, “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 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
22^nd                         Aberystwyth, UK, Aberystwyth Arts Centre Great Hall
23^rd                          Cardiff, UK, St David’s Hall
25^th                           Brighton, UK, Dome
27^th                          Basingstoke, UK, The Anvil
28^th                          Torquay, UK, Princess Theatre
30^th                          Stoke On Trent, UK, Victoria Hall Stoke

MAY – HEADLINE TOUR
1^st                            Bristol, UK, O2 Academy Bristol
2^nd                           Liverpool, UK, Liverpool Philharmonic Hall
4^th                             Carlisle, UK, Sands Centre
5^th                             Gateshead, UK, Sage Gateshead
6^th                             York, UK, York Barbican – SOLD OUT
8^th                             Edinburgh, UK, The Liquid Room – SOLD OUT
9^th                             Aberdeen, UK, Beach Ballroom
11^th                          Lincoln, UK, Engine Shed
12^th                           Folkestone, UK, Leas Cliff Hall
13^th                          Bedford, UK, Bedford Corn Exchange
15^th                           Cambridge, UK, Corn Exchange
16^th                           Manchester, UK, The Bridgewater Hall
17^th                          Birmingham, UK, Symphony Hall
19^th                           Oxford, UK, New Theatre Oxford
20^th                           Guildford, UK, Guildford G Live – SOLD OUT
21^st                          Ipswich, UK, Regent Theatre
23^rd                           Nottingham, UK, Nottingham Royal Centre
24^th                          London, UK, The London Palladium