Dustin Lynch went to the immersion school of country music.

As soon as he turned 18, he moved to Nashville and rented a room within feet of the famous Bluebird Café. He spent night after night analyzing the work of as many singer/songwriters as possible to beef up his own songwriting skills.

Lynch applied what he learned and landed a publishing contract. Over the next two years, he wrote more than 200 songs. You can hear a small sampling of Lynch songs tonight at the South Florida Fair.

“It was one of those things I’d dreamed about,” Lynch said by phone from Nashville, on a rare day off the road. “When I got a publishing deal, suddenly I was getting paid for writing songs, and I’d been writing songs for fun — and for free — for three years. I thought, ‘This is awesome. Wake up and write songs every day?’ It was fun.”

That publishing deal also landed Lynch in writing sessions with some of Nashville’s top tune-smiths.

“I had a lot of guys early on come in and write with me, an artist that didn’t have anything on the radio yet.”

A few of those writers are already glad they said yes to Lynch. The Tullahoma, Tenn., native made a huge splash in the country music pool this year with “Cowboys and Angels,” a song he co-wrote in one of those sessions. Lynch is certain there were mysterious forces at work from the get-go.

Accomplished songwriters Tim Nichols (“Live Like You Were Dying”) and Josh Leo (Reba’s “Wrong Night”) met Lynch in an old house on Nashville’s famed 16th Avenue. Lynch was in awe of these powerhouses, so when they asked if he had any ideas, he said he was “fresh out.” It wasn’t true, but the polite and humble newcomer didn’t want to make a bad impression. But on a scrap of paper in his pocket, Lynch had jotted down his cowboys and angels idea, along with a few others. Nichols opened his binder of song ideas and said that he had an idea: how about cowboys and angels? he asked.

“It was crazy,” Lynch said. “In March, it’ll be three years, and I remember it like it was yesterday. For that to happen the first time we ever met, it’s astronomical. And for it to be my first single and to have such an impact on my life? You’re talking about divine intervention.”

It’s just a simple song comparing a wild, “hell on wheels” cowboy to his “salvation,” a sweet, heavenly angel. And it asks the million dollar question: Do things happened by “accident or grand design”?

“I knew it was a really special song,” Lynch said. “Not necessarily a hit, but special. I couldn’t wait for people to hear it and immediately people in Nashville started buzzing about it. I remember thinking, this feels a little bit different from most songs we write.”

The song made Lynch a country-music household name. You can barely turn on the radio without hearing the ballad. The first time Lynch heard it on the radio he was with people from his label and he knew it was going to play. The first time he heard it spontaneously, he was with his parents.

“I was in my hometown, riding in my dad’s truck, listening to the Nashville country station and it came on. We cranked it up!” he laughs. “My parents have supported me since day one and put up with years of my shenanigans, and to finally see it pay off was amazing. We were all screaming. My mom was crying.”

The introspective Lynch is memorizing those important moments before they evaporate.

One of the biggest bonuses of having a hit record is the the nationwide interest. “We’re getting to travel all over the country now and more people are coming out.”

Lynch loves watching the world fly by out his bus window. “Growing up I didn’t get to travel at all so this is just great and we’re fortunate to have the coolest job on the planet and it’s like we’re on permanent vacation. We get to meet new people and even have a few beers once in a while. Growing a fan base is fun!”