Keith Urban at the ACM Honors on September 20, 2010. Getty Images/Courtesy of the Academy of Country Music.

He hails from Australia and New Zealand, he conquered America and he’s found an audience in Europe. Keith Urban’s global assault was hailed Monday as the Academy of Country Music handed him its Jim Reeves International Award during the fourth annual ACM Honors at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium.

The award wasn’t just a nicety. While country music was born and bred in the U.S.A., it’s had a bit of a rocky road in building audiences beyond American borders. Keith’s made a point of taking his music to other territories, leading host Lee Ann Womack to hail “the world domination of Keith Urban.”

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Mel Tillis at the ACM Honors on September 20, 2010. Getty Images/Courtesy of the Academy of Country Music.

Martina McBride, Randy Travis, Mary Chapin Carpenter and Kenny Rogers were among the artists who showed up to perform on their behalf.

Dierks Bentley, Brad Paisley, Toby Keith and Barbara Mandrell were among the acts who sent their support via video.

But even more can be said by taking an inventory of the artists who were not on hand that were affected by the people who graced the stage Monday at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium: George Strait, Lady Antebellum, Darius Rucker, Josh Turner, Rascal Flatts, Alan Jackson, George Jones, Reba McEntire, Shania Twain… The real task would be to find artists who did not benefit from the raft of people — musicians, producers, concert executives, songwriters and pioneering artists who were honored at the fourth annual ACM Honors.

The event allowed the Academy of Country Music to give a more detailed account of the behind-the-scenes people and the pioneers of the genre than it could provide during its fast-moving televised awards.

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Marty Stuart photo courtesy of The GreenRoom.

When Marty Stuart set out to record his latest album, Ghost Train: The Studio B Sessions, at a historic Nashville studio, he was the perfect guy to do it.

RCA Studio B was the breeding ground for a ton of country hits by the likes of Dolly Parton, Elvis Presley, the Everly Brothers and Jim Reeves. It’s currently owned by the Country Music Hall of Fame and serves more as a tourist attraction these days than a working studio, but it was a great location for Marty, who has an avowed appreciation for country’s past.

The RCA studio had a personal connection, because it was the site of Marty’s very first recording session, when he worked as a sideman for Country Music Hall of Fame member Lester Flatt. Since then, Marty’s gone on to have some important final moments with several other Hall of Famers. He was the producer of Porter Wagoner’s very last album, Wagonmaster. And Marty co-wrote the last song that Johnny Cash authored. Both Porter and Johnny are recalled on Ghost Train — Marty wrote a recitation called “Porter Wagoner’s Grave,” and he recorded the song that he and Johnny wrote together, “Hangman.”

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Keith Urban photo courtesy of Capitol Nashville.

With the 45th annual Academy of Country Music Awards a dozen days away, the ACM dropped a long list of trophy recipients Tuesday that’s tattooed with a few publicly recognizable names — including Keith Urban and Mel Tillis — as well as a bunch of significant songwriters, musicians and executives. The off-camera winners, as they’re called, will be formally recognized when the West Coast-based Academy presents its annual ACM Honors in Nashville Sept. 21.

Keith is being honored with the Jim Reeves International Award for bringing global attention to country. Born in New Zealand and raised in Australia, he’s done that somewhat naturally by connecting the dots between his homeland, the U.S. and Canada. Named for one of the first country stars to establish a strong presence overseas, the International Award has previously gone to such figures as Garth Brooks, Roy Clark, Dick Clark and Dolly Parton.

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Zac Brown Band photo courtesy of Atlantic Records.

Four-time winner Taylor Swift might have been country music’s most-honored figure at Sunday’s Grammy Awards, but she was hardly the only person in the genre to have a big time. The Zac Brown Band took the Recording Academy’s Best New Artist trophy during the three-and-a-half hour show, and Steve Wariner, Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum, Carrie Underwood and Randy Travis were among the acts singled out during a streamed pre-telecast ceremony, where the bulk of the 109 victors were announced.

“It’s such a honor to be on stage and to be sharin’ in this big amalgam of music,” Zac told the star-studded Staples Center crowd. “We’re so honored and blessed to be here. We’re looking forward to playing for y’all.”

Play they did. The band whipped through a medley of songs with guest keyboard player Leon Russell, on stage less than three weeks after undergoing surgery to repair the leakage of brain fluid. The set ended with a wicked-paced instrumental after the last verse and chorus of “Chicken Fried.”

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Dolly Parton photo courtesy of Dolly Parton Management.

Dolly Parton, Ernest Tubb, Charlie Daniels and the founder of Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge join Kid Rock as the newest members of the Music City Walk of Fame when the latest round of markers are added in a downtown Nashville ceremony this Sunday.

Sponsored by GAC, the induction brings the total number of Walk of Fame markers to 42, including Hank Williams, Reba McEntire, Emmylou Harris and Steve Wariner.

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