The Shires have been extremely successful within the UK and country music as their debut album went into the top 10 of The Official UK Album Chart. Being the first British country band to achieve this success, they recently embarked upon a UK tour with support from US duo John and Jacob and I was lucky enough to get tickets to the sold-out Glasgow show which took place at the Oran Mor in the West End on the 10th of April 2015. Little did I know that this date would be dubbed as the “best gig of my life so far.”
Only two months ago I reviewed John and Jacob’s headline tour through the UK and so seeing them live again was such a treat. They were looking very dapper this time in their burgundy suits and the audience was lucky enough to be graced with their cover of The Everly Brother’s “Wake Up Little Susie.” They also shared the amazing news that they were recently signed over here in the UK and therefore they want to “give the love back to us”. They’re looking to get more radio airplay and hopefully bring their full band over here soon.
After hearing John and Jacob’s set, The Shires took to the stage for their performance as headliners. I am still speechless over the whole show and evening but their performance in particular just blew me out of the water. My friend and I were unable to fathom what we had just seen before our eyes as their stage performance, ability to connect with the audience and their stand-out band had us cheering like there was no tomorrow. I even shed a few tears when they performed “Brave,” the track the album is named after due to the powerful lyrics, vocals and the atmosphere created within the venue. It was breath-taking.
I felt very lucky to be in the audience for the Glasgow show as Ben, half of The Shires, stated that “the show was up there in his top 10 moments” due to the audience’s idea of continuing their harmonies as a way of obtaining an encore. I was also lucky enough to meet both The Shires and John and Jacob after the show. Both groups are made up of such lovely people and John and Jacob even remembered my friend and I from their headline tour. We had roughly a 15 minute chat about their new album, the upcoming album, their performance, their band and basically everything else making us feel like we were best friends that hadn’t seen each other in months.
I definitely recommend seeing The Shires live as their album may sound amazing on CD or streamed, but it is nothing compared to their live performance. They have talents to be recognised and admired.
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