When you listen to Caught in the Act: Live for the first time, Eric Church wants you to know that the CD is just what the name implies — a spontaneous musical event.

“We made this set list for this live record an hour before show time with a pencil and a piece of paper,” he recalls of the recording last October. “I just went out and looked at the band. I said, ‘What do you guys want to play tonight?’ There was no rhyme. There was no reason. It was about the music. We left the lights up so that people, I could see ’em. They could interact with me.”

In addition to hits like “Smoke a Little Smoke,” the 17-song CD also includes concert favorites like “These Boots” and “Before She Does.”

After it was done, Eric says he was anxious to listen to the recording of his show at Chattanooga’s Tivoli Theatre.

“I’m always nervous about live records because I have some that I adore, and I have some that I’d just rather buy the regular record,” he admits. “So, for me, it was a sigh of relief when I heard it, and I realized that that energy was there and that feeling was there that we wanted to capture.”

Eric’s first live album makes it debut in stores and online today.

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Brad Paisley likes the concept of “wheelhouse” so much that he named both his home studio and his new CD after it.  But, he admits, at first he didn’t know exactly what it meant.

“I like to throw big words around, and sometimes I get ’em right,” he jokes.

Initially, Brad thought it had something to do with automobiles.  But Brad finally found out the word is best known for its use in America’s pastime.

“I always just pictured sort of the wheel well of a car,” he says. “And then I realized it was baseball, and what they’re talking about is the strike zone and the area where when you follow through on the sort of circular motion of a swing that you’ll hit the ball the best.”

You actually hear Brad sing the lyric in his hit “Southern Comfort Zone.”

“I had said, ‘When your wheelhouse is the land of cotton,’ I said, ‘That feels like that’s the name of the record, Wheelhouse,’ because this is all about exploring my comfort zone and what am I comfortable doing and what am I uncomfortable doing and let’s see if I can make that now something that’s within this wheelhouse of mine.”

On this record, Brad stretches past his comfort zone, producing the record himself, a first for Brad.  Wheelhouse is new in stores today.

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This year’s Academy of Country Music Awards not only made big winners of artists like Miranda Lambert and Luke Bryan, it also helped CBS come out on top.

The 48th Annual ACMs was the most-watched program of the night, with the show’s biggest audience in fifteen years. 2013 will also go down in history as the first year the ACM show had more viewers than the CMA Awards.

In all, fans cast more than a million votes for Entertainer and New Artist of the Year, with Luke Bryan and Florida Georgia Line taking home those trophies.

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The day after winning the ACM Entertainer of the Year trophy, Luke Bryan posted a special post-show thank-you to his fans on his YouTube channel.

“I have been yelling and partying and screaming and shouting and crying, really every emotion you can have,” he says, commenting on how obviously hoarse he is in the video.  “All those emotions are what you guys have done for me…making my life go to a whole ‘nother level and a whole new special place.”

Luke also jokes that juggling his hosting duties and performing a new song did get the best of him, at least once.  “It was awesome getting to do the new single ‘Crash My Party,’ which I messed up the first lyric,” he admitted. “So go download it so you can hear the proper lyric.”

That song is the first single from Luke’s forthcoming fourth studio album.

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Country’s biggest stars showered both the fans and the military with gifts at Saturday’s ACM Party for a Cause Festival.

Lee Brice’s “Parking Lot Party” seemed to be the appropriate theme for the outdoor show just east of the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, while Hunter Hayes hinted at his Sunday performance with Stevie Wonder by singing “Superstition.” Eli Young Band left the stage with a shower of guitar picks, sweaty towels and drumsticks for the fans.

Host Kix Brooks brought out the cast of A&E’s Duck Dynasty to help pass out a few checks for the festival’s chosen cause: America’s military. The ACM donated $25,000 to both the Wounded Warrior Project and Folds of Honor, plus $10,000 to Nellis Air Force Base Support Squadron.

Dierks Bentley continued showing fans the love, bringing one onstage to play guitar and heading into the audience to give an autographed one to another. Then the big surprises started.

First, Sheryl Crow harmonized with Dierks, before performing her hit “If It Makes You Happy.” Then, Tim McGraw appeared strategically as Dierks sang “Home.” 

Thanks in part to Tim, Army Sgt. Matthew Pickar and his wife walked away with the biggest surprise of the night — a new house from Operation Homefront. Tim couldn’t resist joining in with the generosity, giving the couple $10,000 to get them started.

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Monday’s taping of ACM Presents: Tim McGraw’s Superstar Summer Night promises “high octane performances and music collaborations,” and even Jason Aldean is expecting an unpredictable night.

“I think a lot of us are not really a hundred percent sure what it is…We don’t really know what to expect yet,” he says. “But obviously, you’re gonna have a lot of us there, and it should be a fun night.”

With rappers Nelly and Pitbull set to join artists like John Fogerty, Faith Hill, Florida Georgia Line and The Band Perry, it looks like Jason is probably right. R&B artist Ne-Yo will be in the mix as well, while Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, Taylor Swift, Keith Urban and Lady Antebellum will all preview their summer tours.

Jason believes the two-hour special to kick off the summer tour season is even good for the acts that don’t happen to be on the show.

“It’s like you’re promoting all the big tours that are going on in country music and just the format in general,” he says. “The more people we have listening to our brand of music the better for all of us.”

But for Jason, it was one of his heroes’ names in the title that sealed the deal.

“I’m a big fan of Tim’s and the fact that he’s a part of it obviously was a big reason that I wanted to do it.”

You can see ACM Presents: Tim McGraw’s Superstar Summer Night Sunday May 19 at 9:00 ET on CBS.

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The Band Perry may well have accomplished a feat unique to them as country artists: their own namesake cupcake.

On Fridays and Saturdays during April, you’ll be able to buy the Very Perry Chocolate Cherry Cupcake at Gigi’s locations all across the country. While the flavor was inspired by the girl who wants to “change [her] name to Cherry” from the Pioneer song “I’m A Keeper,” the trio narrowed down the specifics during a tasting.

“I really couldn’t tell after trying the first one,” Neil Perry jokes. “I had to eat several just to make sure. You know, quality control and all.”

In the end, The Band Perry combined several choices, deciding on a cherry-chunked cake batter, with chocolate icing with a cherry on top.

Reid says The Band Perry’s excellence in the cupcake arena may turn out to be a problem.  “They are delicious,” he says. “So delicious, that I will be running the stairs after all of our shows now!” 

Gigi’s will also be selling copies of the band’s sophomore CD, Pioneer, along with their cupcake creation.

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With Lee Brice’s wedding to his longtime girlfriend less than a month away, he jokes he’s enjoying his last shows as an eligible bachelor.

“I’ll still be a single man at Country Thunder,” he tells the Arizona Daily Star. “It’s one of my last shows as a single man.”

After the April 13 date with Toby Keith in Florence, Arizona, Lee sets his sights on tying the knot in Branson, Missouri, and then enjoying some long-awaited time off.

“We’re going to have a quiet ceremony with family and we’re going to take off and go to a beach somewhere and have us a honeymoon for seven days,” he says.

Immediately after that honeymoon, it’s back to business. Two of Lee’s first tasks as a married man will be finishing his new CD, and heading out on tour with Brad Paisley in May.

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On Monday’s episode of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars, Kellie Pickler will share the best year of her life with viewers.  This week, the contestants were asked to choose a memorable time from their lives and a song from the same era to create their dances, and Kellie’s chosen a very special one.

Kellie picked 2011, the year she married songwriter Kyle Jacobs. While Kellie and partner Derek Hough dance the rumba, Kyle will be on hand to perform a romantic ballad called “Say I Do” that he wrote especially for her shortly before their wedding.

“It’s going to be a 100 percent emotional moment, and I’m just hoping I can keep it together,” Kyle says. “The fact that she’s dancing to this song, our song, means so very much to both of us… it honors the love that we have so much.”

Kellie previewed her dancing plans on Friday’s episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show.  When Ellen asked whether there might be some jealousy between Kyle and Derek, the two men in her life, Kellie quipped, “My husband knows he’s always going to get the last dance.”

Dancing with the Stars airs Monday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

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Luke Bryan was overcome with emotion when his named was called as this year’s ACM Entertainer of the Year Sunday night, and it turns out he was thinking of some very dear family members who couldn’t be there to cheer him on.

Luke told reporters backstage, “My family has dealt with a lot of tragedy in our life with me losing my older brother and my older sister, and that’s the first thing you go. You know they’re in heaven smiling down on moments like this.”

As for his hosting job, Luke thinks he and co-host Blake Shelton pretty much hit it out of the park.

“I felt like Blake and I just had a blast,” Luke said, adding, ” I was so focused on hosting that I forgot the first line of my new single, ‘Crash My Party.’ I don’t even know what I sang, but I just went ‘blah blah blah,’ and then I got back on track ’cause hosting was such an important thing for me.”

Luke didn’t think he had a shot at winning Entertainer of the Year since Taylor Swift and Jason Aldean were both nominated against him. He said, “I thought it was Taylor’s award. Gosh knows, I cannot even believe it’s happened.”

Miranda Lambert wore a very revealing, low cut dress to the ACM Awards which showed off her assets quite nicely. Miranda’s friend Becky, who is married to Little Big Town‘s Phillip Sweet, even came up to her at the show and told her, “Blake won Duo of the Year.”

Miranda denied her husband Blake Shelton’s claims he saw her naked that morning, saying backstage “How can you see someone naked on ACM day? There’s no time for that.”

Miranda admitted she didn’t think she would win her fourth consecutive Female Vocalist trophy. She said, “I was rooting for Carrie because I’m such a fan of hers, and I’m so jealous of her voice and her legs and everything else she has.”

Hunter Hayes‘ collaboration with Stevie Wonder was a long time in the making. Hunter has been a huge fan of the R&B icon for years now, and he said backstage “I was fortunate enough to get to meet Stevie last year, and we talked about collaborating.”

Fast forward to Sunday night’s ACM Awards, and Hunter is sharing the stage with Stevie for a performance of Stevie’s hit “Sir Duke.” Hunter admitted it was quite surreal even to rehearse with Stevie saying, “I just looked at every one of the guys in the band. And we’re just all in awe that this is happening. I mean, it’s something I’ve been dreaming of forever, and it finally happened. It’s amazing.”

Stevie had nothing but high praise for Hunter backstage. He said, “He’s the kind of artist  that we talk about when we say we want to bring love back to music and bring people and unity back to music. Well, this man, has that in him. So, I just say today is just the beginning of the best part of the rest of his life.”

Jason Aldean was truly surprised to win Male Vocalist of the Year at the ACM Awards. Even though Jason’s had a stellar year with hits like “1994,” “The Only Way I Know” and “Take a Little Ride,” he was going up against his very successful buddies Blake Shelton, Luke Bryan, Eric Church and veteran star Toby Keith.

Jason said backstage, “It was something that I always hoped I would win at some point in my career. So, to finally have it under my belt feels really good.”

Jason also won his second straight Vocal Event of the Year trophy for “The Only Way I Know” with Eric Church and Luke Bryan. He won it last year with Kelly Clarkson for “Don’t You Wanna Stay,” and Jason joked, “Maybe they’ll rename the award after me or something if this keeps up.”

Eric Church won Album of the Year for Chief, and that project was named Album of the Year last year at the other big country show, the CMA Awards. Eric joked backstage, “I gotta quit saying it ’cause it’s the only one we win, but it’s the one award I want the most. The Album of the Year is the one that’s most special to me.”

Little Big Town’s Vocal Group of the Year caps off an incredible run for the foursome thanks to their #1 hits “Pontoon” and “Tornado.” The group’s Karen Fairchild said backstage, “We’re just so grateful to have this moment. You know, we know it only comes around every once in awhile. We’re just enjoying it so much.”

Thompson Square took their second consecutive Vocal Duo of the Year trophy Sunday at the ACM Awards. Even though it wasn’t their first win, the duo’s Keifer Thompson said backstage, “I truly can’t believe this is our life. We never thought we would do anything like this.”

Thompson Square is currently on the road with Luke Bryan, who co-hosted the show this year with Blake Shelton. Luke was there when they got offstage from accepting their award, and he handed both of them a drink in red Solo cups to celebrate the win.

“He was ready to party,” said the duo’s Shawna Thompson.

As for Luke’s job co-hosting the show for the first time with Blake Shelton, Shawna adds, “It’s the perfect combination of personalities.”

Florida Georgia Line took home the fan-voted New Artist of the Year trophy, and the duo’s Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley still can’t believe they’re actually winning ACM Awards now.

Tyler said, “Literally this time last year were sitting on the couch eating Jet’s Pizza talking to my roommate about, ‘It’s gonna be really cool. Maybe one day we can go to that award, you know, that awards show.'”

Florida Georgia Line plans to take their ACM Award on the road with them so their fans can see it and touch it at their concerts.

“Our fans mean everything to us,” Brian said. “We wouldn’t be here without them, so that’s what it’s all about. Absolutely.”

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Luke Bryan was richly rewarded for co-hosting the ACM Awards for the very first time on Sunday night: he took home the night’s top honor.

In the biggest surprise of Sunday night’s telecast, which aired live from Las Vegas on CBS, Luke was named Entertainer of the Year, beating out his ACM Awards co-host Blake Shelton, as well as Jason Aldean, Miranda Lambert and Taylor Swift.  He’s the first male artist to win the award since 2007, when Kenny Chesney took it home.  Since then, Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood have each won the fan-voted award twice.

A visibly emotional Luke struggled to hold back tears as he told the crowd, “This is the defining moment of my life and it means the world to me, and I will never take it for granted.”  He added, “What I always wanted to be was just a country singer that got to ride on a tour bus and show up at a new stage and play music every night…every time I step on stage, it is a blessing to play for fans.”  Noting that he’d just started headlining his own tours, Luke also thanked all the artists for whom he’s opened — those he “watched from the side of the stage” — who he said taught him how to be a better entertainer.

Luke was presented his award by Shania Twain, making her first appearance on the ACM Awards in a decade.  At one point, Blake Shelton hugged Shania, and then made an “all right!” gesture, indicating that embracing the Canadian singer was a long-held dream of his.

The night’s other big winner was Blake’s wife, Miranda Lambert, who was named Female Vocalist of the Year for the fourth straight year.  She also picked up the awards for Single and Song of the Year for “Over You,” the song she co-wrote with Blake about his late brother.  Miranda is now one of only three women to have won Female Vocalist four or more times: Reba McEntire and Loretta Lynn are the others.

Accepting the Female Vocalist award, Miranda said, “I thought for sure Carrie had it this year, and she damn well deserves it!”  Then, in tears, she said, “Last night a huge dream of mine came true…I went from being a little girl singing into a hairbrush to watching Shania Twain with Faith Hill, Reba McEntire and Kelly Clarkson.”  She was referring to the fact that she, Faith, Reba and Kelly all went to see Shania’s Las Vegas show at Caesars Palace on Saturday night.

Jason Aldean was named Male Vocalist of the Year — his first win in that category — and his collaboration with Luke and Eric Church, “Only Way I Know How,” was named Vocal Event of the Year.  It was his second consecutive win in that category: he won last year for “Don’t You Wanna Stay,” his duet with Kelly Clarkson.

Eric Church’s Chief was named Album of the Year, and he was presented with his trophy by rock legend John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival.  Accepting the trophy, a surprised Eric said, “I can’t believe I just met John Fogerty! We should hang out later.”

Little Big Town was named Vocal Group of the Year and earned Video of the Year honors for “Tornado,” while Thompson Square took home the Vocal Duo of the Year prize.  Florida Georgia Line captured the fan-voted Best New Artist Award.   Taylor Swift, who was up for five awards, went home empty-handed.

But of course, the ACM Awards are really all about the musical performances: the first award wasn’t handed out until about 50 minutes into the telecast, and overall, a whopping 25 performances were crammed into the three-hour show, including some unique collaborations:

–After Hunter Hayes debuted his new single “I Want Crazy,” he teamed up with music legend Stevie Wonder for a version of Stevie’s classic #1 hit “Sir Duke,” which had everyone in the audience singing along.  Stevie then closed out the show with another classic, “Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours),” joined by Blake and Luke.

–A tearful Reba introduced a special tribute to the late Dick Clark — whose production company first brought the ACM Awards to TV — starring George Strait and Garth Brooks, together for the first time.  Garth began by singing his touching hit “The Dance,” and then joined George for a version of “The Cowboy Rides Away” as footage of Clark played in the background.

—Tim McGraw performed “Highway Don’t Care” with Taylor Swift while Keith Urban shredded on guitar. 

–Brad Paisley was joined by Hunter Hayes and Dierks Bentley for his new song “Outstanding in Our Field,” and then by pop star John Mayer for another new song, “Beat This Summer.”   Both songs are from Brad’s new album, Wheelhouse, which is out on Tuesday.

–Blake kicked off the show with “Boys ‘Round Here,” featuring Brad Paisley, Luke Bryan, Sheryl Crow and Pistol Annies.

As for the job that Blake and Luke did co-hosting the show for the first time, their banter mostly involved them busting on each other for their alleged lack of talent and the relative tightness of their jeans.  Luke wasn’t as smooth in his delivery as Blake, but he did just fine, considering he didn’t have Blake’s years of experience both co-hosting the show with Reba, and appearing on-camera weekly on a hit reality show.

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