Eric Church left the Grammy Awards empty-handed, but the “Springsteen” singer has seven chances to take home an Academy of Country Music Award this year.

Church leads this year’s nominations, announced Wednesday morning, followed by newcomer Hunter Hayes with six; Miranda Lambert and Taylor Swift with five each; Leesburg’s Luke Bryan, Kacey Musgraves and Little Big Town, whose Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman have Georgia ties, with four nods each; and Macon native Jason Aldean, Blake Shelton, Eli Young Band and Florida Georgia Line (obviously with partial state roots as well) picking up three nominations each as well.

The 48^th annual awards show will air live from Las Vegas at 8 p.m. April 7, with Shelton and Bryan co-hosting – the latter’s first-ever live hosting gig.

Georgia acts made a noticeable showing among the nominees, with Bryan earning his first Entertainer of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year nods. He’s also up for Vocal Event of the Year for “The Only Way I Know” with buddies Aldean and Church.

Little Big Town, fresh off their first Grammy win for “Pontoon,” leads the group nominations with four, including their seventh for Vocal Group of the Year, where they will compete with, among others, Atlanta’s Zac Brown Band and Lady Antebellum, whose Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood always recognize their UGA days.

Brantley Gilbert, a native of Jefferson, Ga., released his first album in 2009, but is only recently being recognized by the major leagues. He’s up for New Artist of the Year (against Jana Kramer and Florida Georgia Line, whose Tyler Hubbard is from Monroe) and New Male Vocalist (against Lee Brice and Hayes).

Florida Georgia Line, buoyed by their hit “Cruise,” will also vie for Vocal Duo of the Year (Sugarland is among their competition) and New Vocal Duo against Love and Theft and Thompson Square.

Aldean makes his third consecutive showing in the Entertainer of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year categories. He and Bryan will face off for the Entertainer award, along with Shelton, Lambert and Swift.

The Entertainer of the Year and New Artist of the Year awards will be decided by fan voting, starting March 25 at www.voteACM.com. The voting will continue until the night of the show.

There was also some Georgia love in a handful of categories that won’t be televised.

Zac Brown Band’s “The Wind” and Little Big Town’s “Tornado” are both up for Video of the Year, while Albany, Ga., native Dallas Davidson is nominated for Songwriter of the Year, along with Rodney Clawson, Josh Kear, Luke Laird and Shane McAnally.

Other ACM industry awards will be handed out this fall in Nashville. Wild Bill’s in Duluth is among the nominees for Nightclub of the Year, a category that also includes Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace in Bakersfield, Calif., Joe’s Bar in Chicago, The Dusty Armadillo in Rootstown, Ohio and Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar and Grill in Denver.

For a complete list of nominees, visit www.ACMCounty.com.