A big year for The Shires only got better when they made a long-awaited return to Glastonbury this weekend, and the duo today share their country-flavoured twist on Adele’s instant classic ‘Easy On Me’. Recent months have seen The Shiresreach #5 on the Official Album Chart (and #1 on the UK Country Chart) with their critically acclaimed fifth album ‘10 Year Plan’. They subsequently completed a triumphant sold-out UK tour, bringing down the curtain with a major London show at the Palladium.
From its opening slide guitar, it’s clear that The Shires have taken ‘Easy On Me’ into a different space. Saturating the song with a new country heart, Crissie Rhodes and Ben Earles perform a verse each – her styled grace matched by his supple soul – before their voice meld into one for the song’s affecting chorus. The instrumentation builds too, leading to the crescendo of its chorus. The original is, of course, one of the most beloved songs of 2021. The lead single from Adele’s ‘30’ album, it topped the charts in numerous countries all over the world, including the UK and US.
The Shires recorded ‘Easy On Me’ at Maida Vale earlier this year for The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show on Radio 2. Listen HERE.
Their Glastonbury set continues the strong relationship that The Shires have with the UK’s most famous festival. They first performed there in 2015 a few months after the release of their debut album ‘Brave’ before returning in 2016. That year was especially memorable: not only were they headlining the Acoustic stage, but they almost missed the set due to the birth ofBen’s son. The Shires’ most recent Glastonbury show was in 2019.
‘10 Year Plan’ sees The Shires 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’. ‘10 Year Plan’ is available to stream or order HERE.
The Shires will follow Glastonbury with a variety of major festivals this summer, including a headline set at the Castell Roc Music Festival. They will also play major shows as guests to Tears For Fears and Tom Jones. The dates are:
JULY
1st
3rd
8th Cornbury Festival
9th Hampton, Hampton Pool – HEADLINERS
21st Latitude Festival
24th Carlisle, Bitts Park – special guests to Tom Jones
AUGUST
29th
