Right now UK country music is booming, which is mainly down to Ward Thomas, and The Shires. The two homegrown duo’s have broken and made records with their beautiful music.
Twin sister duo Ward Thomas launched their careers back in 2014 with their independently released album ‘From Where We Stand‘. Their debut release peaked at number 41 on the all genre album chart, and scored a number 1 hit on the Official UK Country Music chart. In 2015 Catherine and Lizzy were snapped up by Sony Music. One year later in 2016 they released their sophomore LP ‘Cartwheels‘. The album was their first via a major label and it topped the Official UK Album Chart making Ward Thomas the first ever British country act to score a UK number 1 album.
The Shire’s formed back in 2013 after singer Ben Earle posted on Facebook that he was looking for a duet partner, Crissie Rhodes replied, and the pair instantly became The Shires. After a short while, they were snapped up by Decca Records and released their debut LP ‘Brave‘ in 2015. This became the first album from a British country act to chart in the Top-Ten of the Official UK Album Chart. Then in 2016 they released the follow up ‘My Universe‘. This became the fastest selling LP by a UK country act of all time and peaked at number 3.
The two leading names of British country have been pioneers for the genre and in 2014 they embarked on a joint tour of the UK. And have also co-headlined a number of festivals, most recently the River Town Festival in Bristol which took place on July 14th. And they have also sang together on several occasions, the most memorable being in 2015 when the collaborated in front of 50,000 fans at the Radio 2 Festival in Hyde Park.
So we know the foursome sound incredible when they team up. Their vocal harmonies are on another level. Ward Thomas’ sibling harmony perfectly compliments The Shire’s tone and it makes for a sublime piece of music when these duo’s sing together. So maybe it’s time that they get in the studio and record a single together?
Both acts are currently working on their third album’s so now would be the perfect time to line-up a collaboration. To have the two biggest homegrown country bands on one song would be truly special, and iconic. The fans would go wild for a Ward Thomas and The Shires collaboration.
We just hope they manage to find time in their hectic schedules to record together soon.
Make sure you follow Ward Thomas and The Shires on Twitter @wardthomasmusic and @thshiresuk to keep up to date with all their latest music and tour news.
Would you like to see Ward Thomas and The Shires team up for a single release? Let us know your thoughts over on Twitter @CelebMix.