The album was released via BBR Music Group (also known as BMG) who the pair recently signed with, and the duo discussed their new album on BBC Breakfast when it came out. Produced by Lindsay Rimes, ‘Good Years’ was co-written by the duo along with some amazing co-writers.

We’ll be live on BBC Breakfast this morning from 8:40 chatting about our new album which is out TODAY!!!! pic.twitter.com/JjKtn5X6Aq

— The Shires (@theshiresuk) March 13, 2020

Lead single ‘Lightning Strikes’ came out at the beginning of 2020 and is one of the most popular songs from the album, with 500,000 Spotify plays. Other singles indluded ‘About Last Night’ and ‘Independence Day’, which Earle spoke about in an interview with Billboard. ‘About Last Night’ is a power ballad that is reminiscent of Lady Antebellum’s sound, with Earle telling Billboard “we’ve always wanted to get a ‘Need You Now’.”

Finally our new album Good Years is out for you to hear! It’s been such a journey and we’re so happy to have you along on this ride with us! The start of the Good Years era Let us know your favourite on the record! Listen here: https://t.co/mFE2Z8lrfi pic.twitter.com/Tyz7qiNvyM — The Shires (@theshiresuk) March 13, 2020

The duo released acoustic videos of both ‘About Last Night’ and ‘Independence Day’, as well as ‘On The Day I Die’ on their YouTube channel. ‘Independence Day’ was also the only song for which they filmed a music video – a simple live recording of the song along with some home videos, which currently has 62,000 views.

A UK tour is planned for 2020, set to run from April to June. However, the coronavirus could be a disruption as the threat is ongoing. One of their shows has already been cancelled – The Shires were supposed to perform at C2C festival on Saturday 14^th March, but the entire evening was cancelled by the organisers. As of yet, there has been no news on whether the tour will go ahead or not.

The Shires formed in 2013 and, before long, signed a record deal with Decca and released their debut album ‘Brave’ in 2015. The album made them the first ever UK country act to chart in the Top 10. This was followed by multiple sold out tours and three more albums, including ‘Accidentally On Purpose’ which charted Top 3 in the UK Albums Chart and number 1 in the Country Chart. Throughout their career, the band have collaborated with many artists, touring with other country acts such as Little Big Town, Carrie Underwood and Shania Twain.

The Shires released their second album, ‘My Universe’ in September which became the fastest-selling UK Country album of all time, eventually reaching number 3 in the charts. The band, made up of singer-songwriters Ben Earle and Crissie Rhodes, were excited about the prospect of their already huge 2016 transforming into an even bigger 2017, ‘We are so happy to be hitting the road again in 2017 – we love playing in the UK, the audience for UK country is growing and growing and every tour and show we do, we see more and more new faces! It’s been such an amazing year but we can’t wait to get started on the next, bring on 2017!’

Their amazing chart success wasn’t the only good news for The Shires in 2016 as the band became the first UK act to sing for renowned Nashville-based country music label, the Big Machine Group. They also toured America, Australia as well as the UK and will presumably be hoping their homeland can live up to all their overseas jaunts this time around. Crissie Rhodes spoke to The Lancashire Telegraph last month about the band’s whirlwind year, ‘It has all been a bit hectic recently. We flew across the Pacific, we turned right and kept going. We went to Australia and then to America and then back home – it’s really cool. It’s been an amazing journey. We can’t believe we get to do what we love every day.’

Country music hasn’t traditionally had the foothold in the UK that it has in the US, and indeed Ben Earle, one half of the band, has only been a recent convert to the genre when Crissie introduced him to it four years ago. The pair seem excited not only about their own future, but about the future of UK Country music though, ‘There are so many different styles with country music, there is something for everybody and it seems as though the UK is really embracing it. Country has evolved so much recently and festivals like C2C (held in London in March) highlight the different genres. It’s so exciting, there is so much going on. Ben and I come from different backgrounds musically, I’ve loved country for a long time but we’re both just as passionate about it now. We are always telling each other about new artists or songs we’ve heard.’

Whether you were already a fan or have been convinced want to check out the new rising stars, and rising genre, of British music, then you can check out the full tour schedule below:

18/4 – Winter Gardens – Blackpool

19/4 – Beach Ballroom – Aberdeen

20/4 – Usher Hall – Edinburgh

23/4 – Pavilion Theatre – Bournemouth

24/4 – G Live – Guildford

25/4 – Warwick Arts Centre – Coventry

27/4 – Cliffs Pavilion – Southend

28/4 – Leas Cliff Hall – Folkestone

30/4 – Royal Concert Hall – Nottingham

1/5 – Regent – Ipswich

2/5 – Palladium – London