Gatlinburg? I drove thru there once and it seemed on par with Orlando FL and the Wisconsin Dells (way too touristy for me)... RMNP is beautiful though and so is the area to the west of it. It's just kind of a shock to come out of a national park into a bunch of t-shirt shops.
I hate to admit that I know this but "hang your hat" is in reference to a country song.
Nashville still seems like a good option being centerally located, has a big airport, lots of different stuff to shoot and last I knew there was a microbrew place downtown.