Shock US city Aussies visit and never return

It’s considered the home of country and the place where Taylor Swift started her career - but there’s so much more to this US city. Here’s why Aussies can’t get enough of it.

“You’re here for a week and you’re going to NASHVILLE?”

That was the question a polite man from Indiana asked me as I waited for a connecting flight from San Fran airport through to ‘Music City’.

It’s a fair question - and one that I wasn’t really equipped to answer - but after five days I could have spent an hour explaining why he had the Tennessee capital all wrong.

Just three hours’ south of New York by plane, Nashville is known for being the spiritual home of country music.

But strolling through downtown, it’s clear there’s so much more to the city than Taylor Swift and Dolly Parton.

Nashville is known for being the home of country music - but there’s so much more the city has to offer. Picture: Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp

It’s a Wednesday night and there’s 15,000-odd locals decked head to toe in yellow roaming the streets ahead of the local ice hockey team’s midweek clash.

The ‘Preds’ (Predators) are looking to take down the lowly San Jose Sharks in front of a heaving ‘Smashville’ home crowd.

As an Aussie, I find it astonishing how smoothly everything runs.

There’s no queues to walk into an at-capacity Bridgestone Arena, the lines for beer are efficient and it’s impossible not to get swept up in the local chants - which are pleasantly easy to pick up on the fly (Hey! You suck! Hey! You suck!)

The Preds dismantle the Sharks in impressive fashion, and it’s back onto the streets where police have closed off the main roads to allow fans to hop from one honky tonk to the next in nearby Broadway.

Ice hockey is a second religion in Nashville. Picture: Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp

It’s impossible not to get swept up in the local chants (Hey! You suck!) Picture: Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp

While Nashville has rightly built up a reputation as a mecca of country music, there’s also plenty more to do - including enjoying the city’s growing foodie scene.

If you can beat the crowds – which were winding around the corner before open - Hattie B’s is pumping out ‘Cluckin Hot’ fried chicken by the kilo.

There’s something for everyone in Nashville; Sperry’s restaurant is an institution of 50 years with its old-school salad bar and VIP clientele to match.

Local server Scott has been waiting tables at the same section of the dimly-lit venue for close to 40 years.

“You never know who you’re serving here - especially if you’re as out of date as I am,” he jokes, casually revealing celebs like Bill Murray and Chris Stapleton are regulars.

The notion of Southern hospitality doesn’t feel like a cliche in Nashville either.

Strangers act like friends in the bustling metropolis and are more than happy to strike up conversation as you wait for a coffee (it stacks up just fine with Sydney blends).

It’s why global stars like Aussie-grown actor Nicole Kidman and her rock star husband Keith Urban are often seen without fanfare enjoying dinner in the city they call home.

Hattie B’s is a family-owned hot chicken joint that’s exploding across America. Make sure to buy a scoop of vanilla ice cream if you’re going to tackle the ‘Shut the Cluck Up’ spice. Picture: news.com.au

Sperry’s restaurant is a Nashville institution. Picture: news.com.au

The exclusive but affordable restaurant serves up mouth-watering steaks and has an old-school salad bar that’ll leave you salivating. You might even catch a celebrity in the corner. Picture: news.com.au

South of the bustling CBD, the newly-built 30,000-capacity Geodis Park stands tall as America’s largest soccer stadium and home of Major-league club Nashville SC.

In textbook Nashville fashion, just a minute down the road is “Santa’s Pub” - a famed dive bar with dirt-cheap beers inside a trailer.

If you’re lucky you might spot a celeb inside the grungy watering hole: last year Ed Sheeran treated patrons to an impromptu karaoke gig.

Just next door is a comically sized barbershop ‘The Handsomizer’ - run by the former frontman of Grammy-winning rock group Jars of Clay.

If you’re a whiskey connoisseur, less than 90 minutes south of the city centre there’s the Jack Daniel’s HQ.

The distillery ships out millions of cases of the good stuff each year and offers a tour that will leave you speechless (and a little bit tipsy).

Santa’s Pub is exactly what it looks like - a double-wide trailer converted into a dive bar. The beers are cheap (but don’t ask for a cocktail). Picture: news.com.au

Jack Daniel’s HQ is just outside of Nashville. Brand ambassador Jed Lirette (above) is passionate about his whisky and runs an incredible tour of the sprawling distillery. Picture: news.com.au

It’s no wonder that Aussie creatives from all walks of life fall in love with Nashville and never come back.

Perth-born singer Ruby Boots - real name Bex Chilcott - found herself at home in the birthplace of country music after years of touring the globe.

“There’s a really special, unique, authentic type of music that happens in Nashville that’s very eclectic,” she told news.com.au.

When she’s not recording new music, she’s showcasing local talent by hosting backyard gigs at Imogene + Willie, a custom jeans shop in the 12 South strip.

Melbourne’s Phil Barton moved to Nashville in 2007 to chase his dreams of being a songwriter. It paid off - five years later he penned his first No.1 hit with the Brice Lee smash A Woman Like You. Picture: news.com.au

The impeccable Carter Vintage Guitars studio (above) is a pit-stop for just about every artist that passes through Nashville. Picture: Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp

Melbourne songwriter Phil Barton first felt the pull of Nashville as a young rocker.

He had carved out a successful career touring the country writing jingles for Bananas in Pyjamas and Bob the Builder with the ABC, but took a risk in 2007 and never looked back.

“No one was here at the time, there were no Australians anywhere,” he explained to news.com.au.

“When I got here, I walked around Music Row and I just thought to myself, ‘what is this magic land?’”

And he’s not alone.

Ben Montague, owner of ultra-popular Carter Vintage Guitars, uprooted his small family to escape the cold weather of London and build up his business.

“My kids just love it. I think that everybody is so welcoming, everybody is always willing to help,” he reveals.

“If you’re in need, you can call somebody and they’ll be there. It’s that Southern Hospitality, no matter how big Nashville gets - it will always have that local feel to it, where people will always be willing to help each other.”

So yes, stranger from Indiana, I did go to America for a week and only visit Nashville. And I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

The author was a guest of Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp.