IN THE three years that duo Ben Earle and Crissie Rhodes – better known as The Shires – have been performing it has been a bit of a whirlwind adventure.

After enjoying critical acclaim with debut album Brave, the pair has been afforded the privilege of playing to audiences all across the globe.

With the release of their second album My Universe now under their belt the country music duo claim they are still in the adjustment period.

“Every day we are still doing something new,” Ben tells The Gazette.

“Things still haven’t really sunk in to be honest, I mean after we released Brave everything just took off, but now it’s all go again with My Universe.”

The pair will be bringing their British twist on the traditional country music sound to the Anvil this Sunday and will be hoping to create more fond memories in the town, after an equipment mishap nearly ended in disaster for the band the last time they graced the stage of the Basingstoke theatre.

“Last time we were in Basingstoke we nearly caused a bit of a scene as the trailer on the back of our tour bus wasn’t locked on properly,” Ben continues.

“We parked round the back of the Anvil and the trailer came loose and nearly rolled into the road.

“Luckily the gate behind the bus was closed.”

Hailing from the neighbouring counties of Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, The Shires have now become a recognisable name on both sides of the Atlantic.

With their take on the genre which was made famous by the likes of Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash, the pair are breaking the mould and bringing new audiences to their shows.

Crissie said: “When we said to our families we are going to write country music they laughed at us and thought that was ridiculous, but I think slowly but surely we are changing what the perception of country music is.

“At shows now we are seeing such a varied audience, we are seeing younger audiences coming to the shows and then there are grandparents and over time we have noticed less and less cowboy boots and Stetsons and checked shirts.”

Crissie added: “We are starting to get in the media’s eye a lot now and it’s great that people are coming across us for the first time.”

The Shires will be playing a sold-out show at the Anvil this Sunday, to find out more about the band visit theshiresmusic.com.