In 1956, a 21-year-old, Elvis Presley, bought 1034 Audubon Drive off of the proceeds he made from his first RCA hit, “Heartbreak Hotel.” He was a young and energetic artist, trying to change the world through his creative talents.
The home went through a series of owners before Mike Curb purchased it in 2006, in conjunction with establishing the Mike Curb Institute for Music at Rhodes College. Since then, designers restored the home to its original 1956 look. The house contains photographs Al Wertheimer took of Elvis when he lived in this house, original light fixtures, and a signed section of wallpaper.
Mike Curb's request? That the students "do something great with the house." And they did. Through The Audubon Sessions, the Mike Curb Institute hopes to utilize the space by encouraging a new generation to explore their own creativity and passion.
Juliet Mace / Mike Curb Institute / Marcella and Her Lovers / Audubon Session in November of 2014
The Curb Institute held several Audubon Sessions, hosting artists such as Rosanne Cash, Preauxx, Bobby Rush, and Marcella Simien. Each show hosted dozens of guests and produced a professionally filmed and recorded product. However, these productions came to a screeching halt in the Spring of 2017.
Jim Weber / The Commercial Appeal
In April 2017, the home suffered a massive fire causing extensive damage. However, due to a pipe burst in January, all of the Elvis artifacts had been relocated during repairs. Due to the fire, the Curb Institute would not use the house again until 2019.
In 2019, then Senior Emily Burkhead led a project to bring a past Audubon Session artist Susan Marshall to perform in the same space she once had, amongst the charred wooden skeleton of the home. Return to Audubon was the first event held at the house since the fire two years prior, and it would be another three years until the house was ready for anything more.
Emily Burkhead / Mike Curb Institute / Return to Audubon with Susan Marshall
Three years later, in the Summer of 2022, rising Junior Jackson Hendrix led a project to revitalize The Audubon Sessions. As a member of the eight-week Rhodes Institute for Regional Studies, he hosted two small sessions, seeking notes and feedback for full-scale events during a regular school year.
The Fall of 2022 saw the first Audubon Session in over five years, bringing Rhodes graduate and previous Curb fellow Raneem Imam to the house.
