Different country, same old brilliant country music...
AS A British duo called The Shires that makes country music, it had always been our dream to go to Nashville.
So when Ben Earle and I signed our first record deal and were flown to Tennessee the very next month to record our album, we couldn’t hide our excitement.
We were born and raised in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire (hence our band’s name) and it was the first time either of us had been to Nashville – in fact the first time we’d been to America, so it was a totally new experience.
We make country music, and Nashville is the home of country. We expected there to be country everywhere and there is: from the moment we stepped off the plane we were immersed in it.
In the airport all the announcements are done by country stars such as Dolly Parton and Lee Ann Womack. It was like going to a theme park for us.
Sam Palladio, an English actor who stars in the American TV series Nashville, showed us around and took us to the Ryman Auditorium, the mother church of country music, where we saw Crosby Stills and Nash play. It’s the best venue to see country stars.
The next night we went to the Grand Ole Opry – the Ryman used to be the Grand Ole Opry but they have built a new one which is a huge complex just outside town.
Ben and I managed to get backstage, and seeing all the dressing rooms was amazing. We were also at the side of stage to watch Sam perform with a country music act called the Striking Matches.
One of the things we were most excited about – besides the music – was the food. We tried all kinds of Southern delicacies.
At the famous Whiskey Kitchen we had fried pickles, now one of our favourite foods. They are rolled in batter and then dropped in the fryer, and you eat them with a sour cream sauce. They taste amazing.
We also went to Arnold’s, a traditional classic, Southern place. It’s really old-fashioned and you all have to queue – politicians, football stars, musicians, everyone. The line was out the door. You pick up a plastic tray, and everyone sits together. It was really cool.
One of their specialities is ‘meat and three veg’ and they had a big beef brisket laid out in the middle of the restaurant. We also had fried green tomatoes for the first time. They are like a cross between an onion ring and tempura. We were a bit confused as one of the vegetable options was macaroni cheese…
Being Britons who make country music, we didn’t know how we would be received by the locals, but everyone was so nice. They were excited by us and loved our accents, and that we appreciated their music and were putting our own twist on it.
We stayed next to Bicentennial Park, and every morning we’d watch the sun rise over the replica Parthenon there, and it would set us up for a day in the studio. We can’t wait to go back.
The Shires’ debut album, Brave, is out now on Decca Nashville. The duo are on tour in the UK until April 28. For further details, visit theshiresmusic.com/tour.