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From the Honolulu Star-Bulletin: Jimmy Buffett’s at the Beachcomber will open at 10 a.m. Mon. Feb. 2 with a traditional blessing, after which it will welcome the public.

It has a stage upon which the icon is sure to perform, but it will be broken in by up-and-coming local talent, nightly.

Another article has more details: Jimmy Buffett Opens A New Dining and Entertainment Destination in Waikiki, Hawaii

“From the first time I rode a wave at Canoes on Waikiki I began to figure out how I could get back to Hawaii on a more regular basis to that One Particular Harbour,” said Jimmy Buffett. “I’m not the first nor will I be the last traveler to do so, but now with the partnership of the great folks at Outrigger Hotels, I have realized my dream and we will soon be open in Waikiki. I have had a long love affair with Hawaii and her people. Mark Twain called these “the loveliest fleet of islands anchored in any ocean” and I couldn’t agree more. I have written many stories and songs inspired by my time in Hawaii and can’t wait to see what the future holds in the land that is so far but yet so near. Mahalo.”

Two Jimmy Buffett songs are now available for download on Wii for the Rock Band 2 video game. The offering also features two exclusive 2008 Rock Band re-recordings of “Margaritaville” and “Volcano” from singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. More information.

Thanks to barefoot’n for passing this along: A friend of mine just got back from a sailing trip and said that Jimmy performed while his group was there. Anegada is sort of an out-island of the British Virgin Islands and relatively remote and unpopulated. Not that far from St. Barts, tho, and it does have an air landing strip.

Lawrence, the proprietor was under sworn secrecy not to tell anyone that Jimmy was going to be there, a deal that Lawrence had previously made with Jimmy. We understand that Jimmy drops by Anegada occasionally and this time it was timed perfectly for our arrival there. Jimmy Buffett serenaded them after dinner and did about ten songs, most of our favorites.

Some pictures of Jimmy Buffett performing an improptu show at the Anegada Reef Hotel on January 13th are available at BVIPirate.

Two Cheeseburger in Paradise restaurants recently closed their doors. The restaurants located in Kalamazoo and Oklahoma City closed this week. CIP restaurants are ownd by OSI Restaurant Partners (parent company of Outback Steakhouse and some other chains).

“The closure is a prudent business decision for us at this time,” said Jerry Sullivan, joint venture partner in Cheeseburger in Paradise for Michigan, in a press statement Wednesday.

It’s that time of the year again when all Buffett fans try to reason with the tour dates season. You can catch up with all of the tour date rumors on the BN discussion board.

The latest rumor has Jimmy Buffett playing shows in Camden NJ on Thursday June 18th and Saturday June 20th at the Susquehanna Bank Center (fomerly known as the Tweeter Center).

Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band will be playing two shows in Hawaii in February. One on February 24th in Maui, and one at Waikiki Beach Shell in Hononlu on Febrary 28th (thanks to scar and wheatsailor for passing that along from PHiP). Ticket on sale information – to be announced soon.

Also look for the grand opening of Jimmy Buffett’s at the Beachcomber in Honolulu to happen around February 1st (thanks to Zeb for passing that along to us).

Jimmy Buffett played a surprise show at the Margaritaville in Cozumel along with Mac McAnally and Nadirah Shakoor on Tuesday January 6th, 2009.

From Courtney: Cozumel was amazing and surreal. We had a blast. Here are some of the songs that Jimmy played: “Margaritaville”, “Cheeseburger in Paradise” (with people playing the different parts, see the photo), “Son of Son of a Sailor”, “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere”, “Changes In Latitude”, “Brown Eyed Girl”, “Volcano”, and “Mexico”. Nadirah also played a song from her album “Nod to the Storyteller”.

Update: Some photos are available on Margaritaville.com regarding Jimmy’s performances at the Margaritavilles in Cozumel and Grand Cayman.

Some reports on the BN discussion board have mentioned Jimmy Buffett has been island hopping and peforming at the Margaritaville Cafes in Cozumel on Tuesday and the one on Cayman Islands on Thursday with Nadirah Shakoor and Mac McAnally. The Caymanian Compass has a photo of Jimmy performing at the Cayman Margaritaville.

From Dokken88: YEEEEHAW, he was there and I was right next to him. Got a guitar pick, the set list. He even talked to me!! What a way to start the New Year. Shook Mac’s hand, my other half shook Jimmys to. He played a very SYKBH friendly set and I would say 75% of crowd had never seen him before. I had to coach the people next to me during Fins. We waited about 3 hours to see him but had the best seats/standing room in the house!! Truly once in a lifetime. Jimmy, Mac and Nadirah up on stage with the ocean in the background and cold beer, how will anything this year top.

From the Denver Post: “Head trauma killed soldier in Buffett-song fight”

A decorated Army Special Forces solider who was fatally injured in a New Year’s Day fight after playing one of his favorite Jimmy Buffett songs on a bar jukebox, died of severe head trauma, according to autopsy results released Tuesday.

Sgt. 1st Class Richard Lopez, 37, of Fayetteville, Ark., died Monday at Denver Health Medical Center.

Steamboat Springs police Capt. Joel Rae said Lopez was beaten by two patrons of the Steamboat Springs’ Tap House Sports Grill after he selected one of his favorite Jimmy Buffett songs, identified by Lopez’s family as “Margaritaville.”

According to the Caribbean Madness blog Jimmy Buffett was sighted in St. Barts before New Years Eve. He played a few songs at Baz Bar. A video from a past appearance by Jimmy at Baz Bar is available (date unknown).

While in St Barth’s, we were in the process of leaving Baz Bar after a night of dancing when Jimmy Buffet showed up and played a few songs. The rumor was that he was going to play New Year’s eve, but it was too much trouble to get there and back with the flight schedules. Maybe he will show up at the next full moon party, as he has been known to do.

Part 3 of Jimmy’s OBX diary has been posted at Margaritaville.com

It was interesting to see Jimmy listing his rules that he operates by:

It is hard to stay under the radar these days where videos and photos have replaced autographs, so I guess I better take a moment to give you the rules by which I operate in that regard.

1) I won’t sign autographs when I am in the act of eating (drinking is okay). Eating is a sacrament to me, and something, which is never to be interrupted. In my world, it comes with the punishment of eternal damnation in the fires of hell (can’t get away from that Catholic thing).

2) As for photos, it all depends on your manners and what kind of mood I am in, and if I do take photos I ask that you keep them as personal keepsakes and not post them on the internet or blogs and not shared with the entire planet earth. A photo should be a keepsake, not a calling card.

3) Finally, I don’t want anybody bothering me when I am at home and that includes on my boat. Other than that, I feel that I am fair game and it is all just a part of the job, and I have found the vast majority of the time, fans I meet out there couldn’t be more respectful and mannerly and I do appreciate that. I still have a bit of a problem with that celebrity stuff as I do still only see myself as a beach boy, ex-altar boy from Mobile, who worked hard and got lucky and not much more. To me, it is just my job.

Happy New Year from BuffettNews.com!!

2008 was another busy year for Jimmy. Stop by BuffettNews.com to see a slideshow that I’ve put together with highlights from the past year. Also cast your vote for the top Buffett News story of 2008.

The Buffett Timeline for 2008 listing all of the hightlights is now available.