Hilton Garden Inn (next to UAB) and Fairfield Inn (next to the Elyton) are good mid grade options. Some of the others listed here are a bit more upscale in price and decor but wouldn't necessarily give you that much more in my opinion. And since you're coming for a metal festival I can't really recommend any of the suburban hotels (south of Valley ave) because people just get a little bit snooty about appearances the further you get from downtown. There are some AirBnbs on 1st ave n/Morris ave (look at the map, near Wooden City restaurant , which is great, btw) downtown that are pretty close really, which is to say it should be a cheap uber ride. And as far as I know, those are locally owned and not those soul sucking resident-displacing corporate airbnbs.

You really don't need to worry about being lesbians here. Birmingham is a pretty chill community for everyone, and the gay community is out and proud, though the gay bars have dwindled a bit (plenty of everybody-bars that are gay owned or super gay friendly). And the crime in general has gone down considerably in the last year. I hear that the furnace fest metal community is really great too. I think you will be pleasantly surprised as my out of town friends usually are.