Country Music Hall of Fame announced record-setting year for visitors

A record number of guests visited The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Historic RCA Studio B, and Hatch Show Print in 2019, venue officials said. 

Nearly 1.3 million people were drawn to the museum detailing the history of country music with collections of songs and artifacts. That's up from about 1.2 million in 2018.

The  majority of visitors hailed from Tennessee, followed by Texas, California, Florida and New York, respectively. Approximately 12% of guests were international, primarily from Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, and France.

The increase comes amid record growth in Nashville's tourism industry. In 2018, Music City had 15.2 million tour Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp.

Exhibitions on Kacey Musgraves, Brooks & Dunn, Boudleaux and Felice Bryant, Keith Whitley, and "American Currents: The Music of 2018" were popular draws, museum officials said. 

The venue expanded in 2014, doubling its space. 

"We’ve been around and part of Nashville’s community for over 50 years," CEO Kyle Young said. "We rolled the dice and came downtown in 2001. Then, we expanded in 2014. These moves allowed us to double our space, grow our staff and broaden our offerings to tell the ever-evolving country music story."

More than 114,400 visitors participated in over 1,600 educational programs at the museum last year. 

Special exhibits this year include "American Currents: State of the Music" in March, Bill Anderson, Martina McBride and Chris Stapleton.