OKP, can you help a lurker out?

i'm planning a road trip cuz (1) i need a serious break from Oakland (born/raised and getting harder and harder to find my place here), (2) i recently decided to pursue being a musician (bassist) full time, but the Bay's music culture is lacking, and (3) i've never spent time in most places in the US that have lively music cultures and i'm tryina see what that looks like.

the timing will be June through mid July, with some flexibility around exactly where i'll be and exactly when.

i'm planning to drive south and then east, as far as Memphis & Nashville, and then back (to hit the same cities, but with having done some networking in between).

for each city, i'm looking for:
1. places to stay
2. recommendations of jam sessions
3. musical connections (musicians or people who know the scene)
4. anyone who wants to show an OKP a good time
5. other?

i'ma post cities below. let me know if you have ideas for any of those questions for any of the cities. feel free to throw other cities/towns in the hat if you think there's other places generally along the way i'm leaving out.