The American Football house from iconic album cover is on Airbnb
They might have fostered a reputation as moody shut-ins, dressed in black with coloured hair, but emo’s still need annual leave. Luckily, for those dedicated emo and math rock fans looking to get away for a few nights, the house featured on the album cover of the debut American Football album is now available to rent out on Airbnb.
Released in 1999, the eponymous American Football album quickly became a defining moment in the development of Midwestern emo as well as math rock. Despite its intense level of popularity, however, American Football split up very shortly after its release, only adding to the defiant and mythical reputation of the record. Almost as iconic as the album itself is its artwork, which features a photograph of a house not so far away from the University of Illinois, where Mark Kinsella was studying.
Located on 704 West High Street in the town of Urbana, the house reportedly belonged to “friends of friends” of the band, according to Kinsella. Originally built in 1893, the house was once owned by Charles Webber, whose great-great-grandchildren ended up working at Polyvinyl Records – the label that released American Football.
The ‘American Football house’ has become something of an Illinois tourist attraction for dedicated fans but, in 2022, its existence was placed in jeopardy. The house was put up for sale, and it was rumoured that there were plans to demolish it and build condos in its place. Luckily, a reformed American Football caught wind of these plans, and purchased the house themselves alongside Polyvinyl.
As a result of that purchase, the house is now available to rent on Airbnb. Boasting three bedrooms and two bathrooms, the website claims the house can host up to six guests, allowing fans to explore a piece of emo history firsthand. The cost for renting out the iconic Illinois property is a fairly steep £150 per night on weekdays, and £229 per night on weekends, with a two-night minimum stay.
According to the listing on Airbnb, the house has recently been remodelled, making the interior virtually unrecognisable from when it hosted punk gigs and Polyvinyl back in the 1990s. However, guests can now enjoy a modern kitchen and bathroom set-up. Either way, it is difficult to imagine anybody booking the house for its amenities, rather than the fact it was on the American Football album cover.
Airbnb’s other historic musical listings
If you never had a teenage emo phase, but still fancy spending the night in a slice of musical history, there are many other notable locations available to rent out on Airbnb. Recently, for instance, the Casbah Coffee Club, where an early incarnation of The Beatles played many live shows as The Quarrymen, was listed on the website.
Meanwhile, rock fans have been given the chance to stay at the Hawaii home of Jimi Hendrix, where he spent a lot of his time in 1970, shortly before his unfortunate death. The Los Angeles home of Sonny and Cher is also featured on the site, as is Bing Crosby’s Palm Springs dwelling and even Prince’s Minneapolis house which famously featured in Purple Rain.
