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An hour before my flight touches down in the USA I am watching a music documentary on the seat-back screen. And the first words in this episode of Dave Grohl’s Sonic Highways are: “Everybody now thinks that Nashville is the coolest city in America.”

Well that’s where I’m going and the Foo Fighters front man is absolutely right. Nashville, Tennessee, is buzzing with success.

This is my third visit, and since I was last here four years ago the neon-lit downtown area has all but doubled in size. New bars, restaurants and shops open every week.

Every joint is jumping and traffic is held up by “pedal taverns” full of whooping young women on bachelorette (hen) weekends. Suddenly this is America’s party town.

There are cranes and building sites everywhere but you can feel a crackle of energy and excitement in the streets. Sir Richard Branson is now building his second Virgin Hotel on Nashville’s Music Row (the first is in Chicago) and there are whispers of a direct UK flight soon.

For decades the city relied on country music to pull in tourists. Now it’s a backdrop to vibrant new ventures in art, fashion, dining and drinking. The hit US TV drama called Nashville has helped, mixing soap-opera glamour and excellent music with high-gloss images showing the city in a great light.

The show’s male lead, Charles “Chip” Esten, 49, was headlining at the Grand Ole Opry on the night we visited. He’s come a long way from 1990s TV improv on Whose Line Is It Anyway? We’d booked a backstage tour and stood just inches away as he and his band rehearsed.

Ninety years old this year, the Opry is the world’s longest-running radio show and an on-stage announcer still reads out commercials between the acts. Tickets from £21, VIP tour £63 extra. opry.com

Until 1974 the Ryman Auditorium in the heart of town WAS the Opry. But after the show moved out it went to seed and had to be saved from the wrecking ball. Now it’s busy with gigs nearly every night, while daytime tours tell you about its heritage. You can get up on the hallowed stage with a guitar and when I busked my way through Hey Good Lookin’ a stranger from Seattle joined in with a perfect harmony. Tours from £10, ryman.com

Next on the musical must-see list is the Country Music Hall of Fame, where a replica of superstar Taylor Swift’s tour bus doubles as a recording studio. Another major exhibit tells how the Nashville Cats, a band of insanely talented session players, attracted folk, pop and rock stars to the city’s studios after Bob Dylan made his Blonde On Blonde album there in 1966. We meet Charlie McCoy, 74, the “Cat” whose guitar work on Dylan’s song Desolation Row convinced the star to fly south to make his next record. countrymusichalloffame.org

Then there’s historic RCA Studio B, which opened in 1958. Run by the Hall of Fame with a shuttle between the two, it is full of memories and ghosts with its original Steinway grand piano still in place. This was the home of more than 1,000 hits by legends such as Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Jim Reeves, the Everly Brothers and Dolly Parton. studiob.org

Nashville’s newest attraction is the George Jones Museum, a moving and rewarding tribute to a star hailed as the greatest-ever voice in country. Once an alcoholic known as “No Show Jones”, George died peacefully in 2013, aged 81, and the museum is owned by widow Nancy. Along with the guitars, gold discs and costumes you’ll see his driving licence, passport, watches, spectacles, even a barbershop that the well-groomed star had installed at home to save trips into town. georgejonesmuseum.com

Around two corners is the super-successful Johnny Cash Museum, opened in 2013 and about to undergo a big expansion. For a guitar geek like me, the highlight was two Fenders owned by Johnny’s boom-chicka-boom man Luther Perkins and the tiny battered amplifier he used on every early classic, including I Walk The Line and Folsom Prison Blues. johnnycashmuseum.com

Over at the Musician’s Hall of Fame they have the drum kit Al Jackson Jr used with Booker T & The MGs and a pedal steel guitar owned by the late great Ben Keith, who in 1970 sat in at a Neil Young session and defined the sound of his classic Harvest album. musicianshalloffame.com

If all this musical history puts you in the mood for live sounds you’re spoilt for choice on Lower Broadway. Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge across an alley from the Ryman has live electric bands. For more traditional country try Robert’s Western World just a few doors down. tootsies.net and robertswesternworld.com

There’s a more relaxed style at the Bluebird Café, heavily featured in the Nashville soap. Its Songwriter Circles are a legend. bluebirdcafe.com

Then wind down until 3am at the Patterson House, with its Speakeasy ambience and huge list of £8 cocktails. thepattersonnashville.com

Staying on the spirits, visit Nelson’s Green Brier whiskey distillery on a daytime tour. The firm was revived in 2009 by two great-great-great-grandsons of founder Charlie Nelson, who came to America in 1850 on the same boat from Germany as HJ Heinz and Henry Steinway. The firm closed due to prohibition in 1909 and re-opened exactly 100 years later. greenbrierdistillery.com

Then take an afternoon drink on the terrace at Tennessee Brew Works. An £8 tasting tour gives you samples of six or more of their delici­ous craft beers. tnbrew.com

Flying back after four action-packed days I realised the trip could have been twice as long without running out of things to do. I feel a fourth visit coming on already.

Travel File

Don't miss: Third Man Records is a music store, label HQ and live venue owned by rock star Jack White. Try its 1940s Voice-O-Graph direct-to-disc recording booth. thirdmanrecords.com

What to buy: Vintage vinyl, rare CDs at Grimeys New & Pre- loved Music. grimeys.com. Quirky arts and crafts in East Nashville. goeastnashville.com

Where to eat: Try Party Fowl (spicy southern-fried chicken, partyfowlnashville.com), The Pharmacy (burgers and German wurst, thepharmacynashville.com), The Sutler (hickory-smoked meat, thesutler.com) and

my favourite, Pinewood Social, a former trolley-bus garage with a bowling alley and a menu full of delicious southern treats. pinewoodsocial.com

The deal: Five nights in Nashville from £1,250pp (two sharing, room only) with American Airlines flights from Heathrow. northamericatravelservice.co.uk 0845 122 8899

More info:visitmusiccity.com and deep-south-usa.com