Each state will have a tourism site with listings and suggestions. Sending an email to places that seem interesting, including the question of what else there is to see/do in the area, might get you some good information.

When I went to Nashville (with a non-adventurous family) the only music we ran across was a guy with a karaoke set-up. The places for finding Real music didn't have shiny little flyers sitting around and I did have my eye/ear open in hopes of finding something. Hall of Fame was neat, but the family was bored.
The plantation tour was well worth doing.

There's a place where you can ride a train up a mountain and see other states from the peak (Chatanooga, maybe?) Along the route, there may be riverboat rides and cave tours.

If your road takes you by St Louis, MO, I think the arch is open for people to go up in..and there's a museum in the bottom.