Sarah Buxton Impresed Crowd at ACM

Sarah Buxton -- easily provided the biggest musical surprise during the Academy of Country Music's New Artists Party for a Cause. If her backing musicians looked familiar, it was because they were members of Keith Urban's band -- with Urban himself tagging along as lead guitarist and background vocalist.

The ACM event showcased all but one of the acts nominated in the new artist categories at the 43rd annual ACM Awards show taking place Sunday (May 18) at the MGM Grand. Garden Arena. The Wreckers -- who are either pursuing other projects or have broken up altogether, depending on the source of the information -- did not appear, but the other new vocal group or duo nominees -- Carolina Rain and Lady Antebellum -- did. And in addition to Swift and Buxton, new female vocalist nominee Kellie Pickler demonstrated her star potential, too. Rounding out the evening were top new male vocalist nominees Luke Bryan, Jack Ingram and Jake Owen.

When Buxton followed with a cover of the Bellamy Brothers' pop hit, "Let Your Love Flow," some people didn't seem to notice at first that Urban was onstage. Urban pretty much stayed in the background as he assumed his role as a sideman, a job he became familiar with before he gained commercial success. Buxton co-wrote Urban's hit, "Stupid Boy," with Dave Berg and Deanna Bryant, but the ACM event gave her and Urban a rare opportunity to perform the song together. He offered a blistering guitar solo that set a high musical bar for other musicians to meet later in the show.