Luke Bryan’s Wife, Family Keep Career in Check

Luke Bryan's career is certainly on a high note. Fresh off the success of his platinum-selling tailgates & tanlines album, the Georgia native took home an astonishing nine American Country awards, embarked on his own headlining Dirt Road Diaries tour and earned four ACM nods, including the coveted Entertainer of the Year. Rather than plotting his next major accomplishment, the 36-year-old is simply trying to savor every moment.

"Maintaining the happiness and the enjoyment of it all, is 90 percent of my focus," Luke told The Boot and other reporters at a recent media event. "I refuse to be one of those artists who, 10 years from now, they're bitter about the rise and the fall of their career. I understand that somewhere there's a peak and a crest for me, and I'm going to enjoy all levels. I'm going to enjoy this ride that I'm on, and when it slows down, that's when it will be time for another phase of my life."

These days, Luke spends much of his time on the road, away from his wife Caroline and two boys, 4-year-old Bo and 2-year-old Tate, but he insists he doesn't take their sacrifices for granted. "I tell my wife, 'I swear to you, at some point, it's going to be your time,'" he explains. "She kind of rolls her eyes and says, 'Yeah, right. Whatever, buddy.' I'm going to always work at that time, too."

While Luke says he wouldn't mind parlaying his fame into an acting career someday, his biggest goal has nothing to do with the entertainment business. "[I'd like to] grow a big charity where I can balance doing the amount of shows and the albums and then really do a life-changing charity," he notes, adding that he's enjoying the charitable ventures he and his wife are both involved in. "To constantly grow that is very rewarding for me. I think that's my dream, to remain happy. I'm in the midst of building a home and a life and making all of that really what I always dreamed it to be."

Luke's first full-length album of spring break tunes, Spring Break ... Here to Party, was released yesterday (March 5). He will head to Spinnaker Beach Club next week for two shows, on March 12 and 13, to celebrate the release of the new CD. More information on the free, oceanfront event can be found here.