Magazine ranks Music City nation's No. 1 in three categories

Travel + Leisure magazine has ranked Nashville the nation’s No. 1 city for “Live Music/Concerts and Bands,” “Affordable Getaway” and “Affordable Hotels.”

The results, announced Monday, are part of the magazine’s annual America’s Favorite Cities survey of 35 major U.S. cities.

Nashville also fared well in the “Friendly” (No. 3), “Barbecue” (No. 4), “Antique Stores” (No. 5), “Vintage Shops and Flea Markets” (No. 6), “Safety” (No. 6), “Hamburgers” (No. 7) and “Wild Weekend” (No. 7) categories.

In contrast, Nashville did not fare well for its ethnic foods, population diversity and boutique hotels.

Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau officials said the results mesh with a branding survey the CVB recently conducted in which 99.1 percent of respondents said Music City lives up to that reputation.

“Over the past seven years, the hospitality and music industries have worked diligently to ensure that visitors to Nashville have an authentic, musical entertainment experience in a creative, affordable environment,” said Butch Spyridon, CVB president. “The city can be proud of its unique musical history and celebrate the diverse, prevalent music scene found in Nashville today.”

In addition, Nashville is featured in the November issue of NYLON magazine in an article covering the music, art and culture of the city.