Your next Airbnb stay could have you living in a music legend’s former home. The last home of Jeff Buckley in Memphis, Tennessee is being turned into an Airbnb, according to the Commercial Appeal.
Goode Development bought the house at 93 North Rembert Street in March for $143,800. It’s still being worked on, but it should be ready by November.
The Buckley family isn’t involved; developer Eric Goode and real estate agent David Lorrison, who both have ties to Memphis music, are leading the project. Goode has played in bands and was a long-time alternative radio DJ, while Lorrison is a concert booker.
Buckley lived in Memphis after releasing his only studio album, Grace, in 1994. He spent nearly a year there working on new music before he tragically drowned in the Wolf River Harbour.
His Memphis home has become a kind of shrine for fans, which is what drew Goode and Lorrison to the place.
“Nobody in Memphis was paying attention to the house,” Lorrison said. “But when you look online, you see people are coming here from all over. They drive for miles to make videos of the house and trace Jeff’s steps in Memphis.”
Lorrison wants the Airbnb to honour Buckley without feeling like a “hipster’s Graceland.” He plans to use period-appropriate furniture, although a friend of Buckley’s, music writer Andria Lisle, mentioned that he didn’t have much furniture back then.
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“The house was really spare,” she recalled. “It was a tiny, wonky, Midtown house, typical for that neighbourhood. He borrowed a gorgeous Victorian couch from David [Shouse of the Grifters] and [Shouse’s wife] Tammy, but other than that he kind of just had a phone, an answering machine, and a mattress. He always had a pile of books and CDs. He moved from room to room, following the sunlight.”
This project coincides with renewed interest in Jeff Buckley, marking the 30th anniversary of his only studio album, Grace, which he released before his death. More young listeners are also now discovering and celebrating his music on TikTok and other digital platforms.
