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From the Stamford Advocate “Ralph MacDonald: Longtime Stamford resident honored during final concert in July jazz series”

With family surrounding him onstage and even more admirers watching from the wings and in the audience, Grammy Award-winning percussionist, composer and songwriter Ralph MacDonald was honored with a day all to himself Wednesday, just before entertaining the crowd on the final evening of the Jazz up July music festival.

MacDonald, a 35-year Stamford resident, was emotionally overcome by the surprise honor, which came in the form of a proclamation by Mayor Michael Pavia.

“We have the greatest resources in the world and we are about to see one of them, live and in person,” Pavia said. “Ralph MacDonald, today is your day on behalf of the citizens of Stamford.”

Speaking for her family, MacDonald’s daughter, Nefra-Ann, 25, thanked all those in attendance, noting, “My dad has dedicated his life to making great songs and making people happy and that has made him happy all his life.”

It was the kind of night that gave him a boost, MacDonald said, after a year of significant health problems, including the discovery in September of lung cancer. It was the first time this year, for instance, that the 67-year-old has taken to a stage.

He and fellow Stamford resident Dennis Collins, a 19-year resident, performed a set of songs at the start of the concert, the finale of the Stamford Downtown Special Services District’s first such monthlong event, paving the way for the evening’s headliner Roberta Flack. The award-winning singer has worked with both men during her career.

“To have Ralph and Roberta both on stage is heaven to me,” said Collins, who sang several of MacDonald’s songs, including “Just The Two of Us,” which brought on more emotions during a night where tears and smiles were plentiful.

For most of MacDonald’s career, he has worn many hats, from percussionist to composer, songwriter to producer.

He has recorded or performed with some of the top names in business, including James Taylor, Billy Joel and Grover Washington Jr. MacDonald also has worked with Harry Belafonte, with whom he got his start, Paul Simon (“Graceland” and others) and many other artists. In the recent past, he has toured as a member of Jimmy Buffett’s band and has performed with the Toph-E and The Pussycats.

From the Zac Brown Band website: Remember that night you got locked out of your beach house and had to sleep under the boardwalk? Or that time you underestimated the amount of space you had to do a flip off the diving board and ended up doing an epic belly-flop that landed you in the ER? Remember when your 4th of July fireworks caught your neighbors house on fire? Maybe you don’t remember anything after a tequila-fueled night of debauchery… Well, you’re in luck! Inspired by the crazy summer mis-adventure from their latest music video for “Knee Deep,” Zac Brown Band wants to hear your funniest summer mishap story. Tell us below for your chance to win!

Grand Prize is the message in a bottle used in the Knee Deep video signed by both Zac Brown and Jimmy Buffett! Winner will also receive a Knee Deep T-Shirt and Kingsford Grill Pack. Enter the contest here.

From Margaritaville.com: “Jimmy stops by Margaritaville Bar & Grill in Chicago”

On Friday, July 22nd, Jimmy visited the Margaritaville Bar & Grill on Navy Pier! Check out the photos of Jimmy signing a poster on the wall, and our Chicago staff with their Fins to the Left…and to the Right!

The Cleveland Plain Dealer has a review of Tuesday night’s show: “Jimmy Buffett’s sold-out concert at Blossom Music Center blurs the lines between entertainment and sociological research“, and a photo gallery from the show.

A fascinating sociological experiment was conducted on a massive scale Tuesday night at Blossom Music Center.

OK. So maybe it was billed as a Jimmy Buffett concert. But we’re not just talking about mere entertainment here.

This was a groundbreaking study on the ability of 19,000 test subjects (i.e. fans) to respond to primarily auditory stimuli (i.e. Buffett’s greatest hits) while under the influence of various intoxicants (i.e. beer and assorted frozen concoctions).

Most subjects were middle-aged. Many were observed to be wearing straw hats, multi-colored leis and grass skirts.

The experiment commenced with a rousing version of “The Wino and I Know.” Enough said.

Guitar-strumming chief researcher Buffett, 64, was barefoot. Instead of a white lab coat, he cut a casual figure in a yellow T-shirt and blue shorts with a skull-and-crossbones pattern.

The show had sold out faster than you can say: “Cheeseburger in Paradise.” It was Buffett’s first performance in Northeast Ohio since 2004.

Enter Landshark Lager’s Fin City Escape Sweepstakes for your chance to win a trip for six to Las Vegas to see Jimmy Buffett in concert or other Landshark prizes.

GRAND PRIZE: (One winner)
It’s time you got away from it all. So escape to Las Vegas, Fin City itself for a weekend of fun with 5 of your friends. Get ready to spend two nights on the famous Vegas Strip, be treated to the ultimate Jimmy Buffett concert experience and get tons of Landshark swag.

INCLUDES:
- Trip for you and 5 friends to Las Vegas
- VIP Jimmy Buffett concert Experience
- Two-night stay on the Vegas Strip
- $900 spending cash
- Jimmy Buffett signed Landshark surfboard
- Landshark Adirondack Chair
- Margaritaville Frozen Concoction Maker
- Set of Tervis Landshark Tumblers
See official rules for complete details

From the Miami Herald: “Savannah Buffett’s world”

Savannah Jane Buffett may be the daughter of music legend Jimmy Buffett, but she’s not living in his shadow. Though she loves music (dad wrote Little Miss Magic for her), her tastes are eclectic, to say the least. Born in Colorado, Buffett (whose mom is Jane Slagsvol) grew up “all over,’’ moving to Palm Beach when she was 14. She now calls Miami home.

Current big news: The 32-year-old has launched an apparel brand called A1A, inspired by her legendary dad’s 1974 album. She also runs a namesake website, which offers recommendations on living the good life. She talked to us about her Parrothead-y world:

What inspired you to start a fashion line?

I started A1A as sort of an offering for people around my age and people from around Florida. Part of it is a love letter to the state. and a part of it takes its inspiration from my dad’s work — the old-school days of him being down in Key West and Miami and that vintage, throwback feel of what sort of made him who he was.

Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band continued the “Welcome to Fin Land” tour last night at the Molson Canadian Amphitheatre in Toronto, ON.

The set list from the show is now available along with comments from those who listed to the show on Radio Margaritaville.com.

The set list included the song “Trip Around The Sun” (featuring Tina on vocals). Buffett ended the show with an acoustic solo version of “Lovely Cruise”.

The tour continues on Tuesday night with a show at the Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, OH.

The Toronto Sun has a review of the show: “Buffett charms a summer crowd”

Early on during his more than two-hour Fin Land 2011 tour stop at a nearly sold-out Molson Canadian Amphitheatre Saturday night, the barefoot Buffett made light of his fall from a stage in Sydney in late January. He luckily escaped serious injury after landing face first onto the concrete and being knocked out, ending up with a few stitches to mend cuts to his head and arm.

“You would think I would know how to make the proper exit off the stage,” he said before Off To See The Lizard, creating a verse in the tune addressing that “sudden plunge.”

With images of the warm waters of the Caribbean and elsewhere often as the backdrop on the large video screen, Buffett appeared to get a bit stronger the longer the show went with the obligatory Margaritaville while Knee Deep – a new song by the Zac Brown Band which Buffett appeared on – fared quite well.

There’s nothing Parrot Heads love more than “nibblin’ on sponge cake, watchin’ the sun bake” with the legendary beach bum Jimmy Buffett himself strummin’ on his six string for charity. Buffett has partnered with leading charity auction site charitybuzz to put VIP concert seats on the auction block for a cause close to his heart. Two lucky fans will escape to Margaritaville by bidding on two orchestra seats at any 2011 Jimmy Buffett concert of their choice!

Bidding is open now through Wednesday, August 3, at Charitybuzz.com. Proceeds from item benefit Ross School, a community that facilitates lifelong learning through interdisciplinary and integrated thinking and innovative leadership to affect positive change in the world.

A video at NineMSN.com.au mentions a deal has been made to open a Margaritaville in Sydney Australia by the end of this year. Watch the video: “More big brands coming Down Under” (gets mentioned about 3 minutes into the video)

Jimmy Buffett performed at the Vehicle Assembly Building for the Space Shuttle workers after the final space shuttle launch of the Atlantis on Friday July 8th. Buffett performed four songs including: “Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes”, “Margaritaville”, “Somewhere Over China” (Acoustic) and “Brown Eyed Girl“.

From Citrusdaily.com: “Atlantis launches on final shuttle mission”

Space shuttle Atlantis arced gracefully into the sky Friday morning on the final journey of a storied program that has been marked by triumph and tragedy.

Hundreds of thousands of spectators descended on the Cape Canaveral area to witness the event. The space center was packed with guests and media, and dignitaries on hand included former National Aeronautics and Space Administration officials, four members of the Kennedy family and singers Gloria Estefan and Jimmy Buffett.

Jimmy Buffett appeared on the TV entertainment show “Extra” on July 4th. He talked about the Margaritaville Online Game (for Facebook and iPad). He also mentioned that he found 20 old songs that he recorded and never released that have a 60′s kind of feel to them. He plans on releasing them on an album later this year.