YES, it is true. Britain's two hottest young country hopefuls, The Shires and Ward Thomas, are playing on a double bill at Pocklington Arts Centre on Saturday night, and sadly it is true, too, that the 8pm show has sold out.

The Shires are young Bedfordshire singer-songwriters Ben Earle and Crissie Rhodes, who share a love of the classic Nashville country sound and went down the proverbial very heavy shower when they performed at Pock in July.

They signed to Decca Records in Britain and have secured a contract too with the American record label Universal Music Group Nashville, becoming the first UK country act to be snapped up by a major Nashville label.

Ward Thomas, meanwhile, are a country/Americana duo from Hampshire, comprising 20-year old twin sisters Catherine and Lizzy Ward Thomas, and while Hampshire and country music may not be obvious bedfellows, these girls were brought up on a livestock farm from a family line that included artists and authors.

Country music has been in their blood ever since they were introduced to the works of Carrie Underwood, Johnny Cash, Dixie Chicks and Alison Krauss by a cousin in their early teens, and now the result is the close harmonies of their debut album From Where We Stand.

What's On tossed a coin that landed on The Shires' side, so the interview ensued with Ben and Crissie, who look forward to their second Pock outing.

"We played the smaller room in July and now we've got the bigger room to play in this time," says Ben, who explains how the joint tour with Ward Thomas came to pass.

"It all started in Nashville where we met the girls and spent a couple of days with them. We were making our album; they'd made theirs, and we said, 'Wouldn't it be great if we could do a tour together'. This was only in March and we sort of said it as an off-the-cuff thing. Funnily enough the two bands in the Nashville TV series were doing the same thing in the show – and that Nashville series was one of the reasons I really got into country music."

Crissie had the same galvanising experience. "I don't usually sit down and watch TV but I got so hooked on that TV series," she says.

"We got introduced to Ben, the main character, so I couldn't watch it any more as the actor is English and I couldn't separate him from the series," says Ben.

The focus falls next on The Shires' debut album after those March recording sessions. "We're set to release it in January. We want to bring it out as we're so proud of it, but September was too soon and Ben and I had only known each since last September and the New Year seems the perfect time for a new record," says Crissie.

Making a record in Nashville was "absolutely amazing", she recalls. "Ben and I were bowled over by the musicianship out there. They would play their part once, they would know it perfectly, and they would play it once sounding so perfect."

Ben experienced an initial feeling of nervousness, but soon it dissipated.

"You're thinking, oh, gosh, are they going to think we're not good enough, but as soon as you're there, the musicians are so humble, and for them it was something a little different, as it wasn't pure country, more pop, so they could play something outside the box," he says.

Fifteen songs were recorded live in only three days in Nashville, followed by vocal recordings in six days in Sweden. Coming next from those sessions will be the late-December single, On A Friday Night. Hear it on a Saturday night in Pocklington this weekend.

The Shires and Ward Thomas play Pocklington Arts Centre on Saturday, 8pm; sold out.