^{RSS Feed}

Jimmy Buffett performed at Baz Bar on St Barts on Monday December 26th. He played “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” (Rolling Stones cover) and a St Barts version of “Volcano” with the Tomas Doncker Band.

If you received a Kindle for a Christmas gift we recommend that you download this book: “The Occasional Margareader: Food for thought served Buffett style” by Donald W. Davidson (The Peninsula Press). It is a free download if you have an Amazon Prime account.

Long before Jimmy Buffett ever became a writer, or a performer, or even a strummer of three basic chords, the young Jimmy Buffett was raised as a reader. Buoyed by his mother’s own passion for that pastime, as well as his grandfather’s seafaring tales, the south coastal youngster quickly discovered that reading could take him to faraway places — both real and imagined — without his leaving the shade of a tree, the sway of a hammock, or even the shelter of his room. And these were the sort of adventures that any boy could take on his own, pretty much whenever he wanted. Sometimes a chapter, a page, or even a line might set his mind off upon some journey, a flight, or a voyage; years later, Jimmy’s own footsteps would lead him to those very same places where once his mind alone had wandered. The selections bound here in The Occasional Margareader represent a great many of those volumes that fueled Jimmy’s imagination and fill his personal bookshelves. They’re the writers and the writings that he’s mentioned in his stories, quoted in his liner notes, and alluded to down through the years in all those songs that you do know by heart. In short, they reflect Jimmy’s own tastes in reading, and here you can sample them, more or less, buffet style.

Our annual Top Buffett News story poll is now available on our web site (right hand column). Vote for your favorite news story.

- Falls from stage in Australia
- Appears on Hawai Five-0
- LandShark Bar & Grill opens in Myrtle Beach
- 2011 Welcome to Fin Land Tour
- Wins CMT Music Award with Zac Brown
- Mville opens at Navy Pier in Chicago
- Performs after last Space Shuttle launch
- Knee Deep reaches #1 on Country Chart
- Margaritaville Casino opens in Las Vegas
- Reclaims Record for Largest Margarita
- Suprise appearance at MOTM
- Margaritaville Online Game Announced
- Long time Coral Reefer Ralph MacDonald Passes away

2011 was another busy year for Jimmy Buffett, who just turned 65. Listed below are the highlights from the past year.

January 2011
Shows for the Welcome to Fin Land Tour are announced (April/May dates)
Plans presented for Biloxi Margaritaville Casino
Buffett Performs in Sydney Australia
Buffett Falls from Stage in Sydney Australia
New Zealand Show Cancelled

February 2011
Buffett joins Chesney for Everglades Foundation
Buffett vacations in Panama

March 2011
Shows for the Welcome to Fin Land Tour are announced (May to August dates)
Buffett performs at wedding in Florida Keys
Buffett Performs in St Barts
Margaritaville Casino coming to Las Vegas

April 2011
Plans approved for Margaritaville Casino & Restaurant Biloxi
Welcome to Fin Land Tour kicks off in Tampa FL
Buffett performs at the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola FL

May 2011
Buffett Performs at the New Orleans Jazz Fest
LandShark Bar & Grill opens in Myrtle Beach
Margaritaville Online Game coming to Facebook & iPad
Buffett to release Buried Treasure of unreleased songs
Chesney joins Buffett for Nashville Show

June 2011
Buffett Attends NYC Police Foundation Gala
Buffett & ZBB win CMT Music Award
Knee Deep hits the Top 40
Margaritaville opens at Navy Pier in Chicago
Proposed Margaritaville Casino & Hotel in Bossier City LA
Buffett plays private show on Nantucket
Knee Deep Video Premieres

July 2011
Buffett Performs after last Space Shuttle launch

August 2011
Knee Deep reaches #1 on Billboard’s Country Chart
Billy Joel and Bon Jovi perform at Jane Buffett’s 60th
Buffett saves Surfer off Montauk
Buffett’s Surprise Appearance at Stephen Talkhouse

September 2011
Margaritaville Coffee available in stores and online
Volcano Live 2011 Release
Buffett on CD Honoring Mark Twain
Buffett Performs in Paris

October 2011
Margaritaville Casino opens in Las Vegas
Margaritaville.com gets a makeover
Margaritaville Reclaims Record for Largest Margarita
2011 Welcome to Fin Land Tour Ends in Las Vegas
February 2012 Tour Dates Announced

November 2011
Buffett’s suprise appearance at MOTM in Key West
Margaritaville Online Beta Available
Buffett appears on Hawaii Five-0

December 2011
Buffett Performs at Child Mind Gala in NYC
Long time Coral Reefer Ralph MacDonald Passes away
Buffetts purchase new home in Palm Beach
Jimmy Turns 65 on Christmas Day

ESPN has a short interview: “Jimmy Buffett on Saints, Shane Battier, singing at Super Bowl”

Jimmy Buffett is a Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter and film producer with millions of fans around the world. The king of the parrotheads took time out to answer questions about his love of sports, what’s on his bucket list and how he feels about assisting Miami Heat’s Shane Battier with his big announcement. ( Note to Shane Battier: Jimmy plays in Miami Jan. 28. Watch your Twitter — you might get an invite to play the congas. …)

I hear you love sports. What is your favorite team?

I’m a big sports fan, but favorite … the Saints! I grew up as a Saints fan. I was at the very first game the Saints played in New Orleans — nobody knew who I was back then. It was probably before you were born!

Shane Battier announced he was going to Miami via Twitter and said, “This was a exciting process and after much deliberation, I would like to quote the great poet Jimmy Buffett and take my chances “Trying to Reason with Hurricane Season.” How do you feel about “assisting” with his big announcement?

“I like it a lot. I was a big fan of his during the Duke days. Being a big Heat fan, I think it’s great. I think he has a lot of dimensions. He’s going to be a huge asset. I’m happy with it.”

In 2001 you were ejected from a Heat versus Knicks game for cursing at referee Joe Forte. Looking back, what are your thoughts, and would you do anything differently?

“No, I wouldn’t do anything different. I remember it humorously now. Alonzo [Mourning] was telling me to stay there. He [referee, Joe Forte] didn’t have any idea who I was. Some people thought it was a publicity stunt. … It completely wasn’t. My son was young, and I told him I was going to have to leave the game because I said a bad word. He said, ‘Do I have to leave?’”

What’s on your sports bucket list?

“Saints to win the Super Bowl next year in New Orleans, and I’ll be there.”

Will you be playing halftime? I’m going to vote for that!

“No. I wouldn’t do the halftime show unless it was live. I don’t lip sync.”

Today Jimmy Buffett celebrates his 65th birthday.
BuffettNews wishes Jimmy a Happy Birthday and a Merry Christmas to all.

From the Palm Beach Daily News: “Jimmy, Jane Buffett purchase ‘zen-like retreat’ on Garden Road for $4.95 million”

After selling their Palm Beach oceanfront estate last year for $18.5 million, singer Jimmy Buffett and his wife, Jane, have bought a three-bedroom, three-bath home on the North End.

The couple paid $4.95 million for the house at 309 Garden Road, according to a trustees’ deed dated Dec. 16 and recorded Wednesday by the Palm Beach County Clerk’s office.

The Buffetts bought the house from Caye C. Hoffmaster, who acted individually and as trustee of a residence trust in her name, the deed showed.

Real estate broker Jim McCann of the Corcoran Group had listed the house for sale at $5.2 million but said he could not comment on any aspect the transaction.

As described in McCann’s sales listing, the custom house in the “island contemporary” style was built in 2003. The property has a “Zen-like retreat feeling,” according to Corcoran’s property description. “Mahogany-framed glass doors slide open and disappear to create an indoor/outdoor lifestyle befitting a tropical resort.”

The property includes a guest suite above a two-car garage and comes with deeded beach access at Eden Road with additional beach access at Via Marila.

In June 2010, the Buffetts sold their five-bedroom seaside home on 1.6 acres at 540 S. Ocean Blvd. They had paid $4.4 million for that house in 1994.

Radio Margaritaville Remembers the Legendary Ralph MacDonald

The legendary percussionist of the Coral Reefer Band, Grammy-award producer, songwriter, and friend to us all, passed away on Sunday, December 18 at his home in Connecticut. Remember with us some of Ralph’s great music, and a full life of fun and camaraderie, on this tribute program with band-mate Jim Mayer and Radio Margaritaville’s Steve Huntington.

Broadcast Schedule:
Wednesday Dec 21st : 12pm ET
Thursday Dec 22nd: 12am (Wed. nite)
Thursday Dec 22nd: 6pm
Saturday Dec 24: 6am
Sunday Dec 25: 11pm

Freddy & the Fishsticks on this week’s Radio Margaritaville concert replay!

Happy holidays from Freddy and the Fishsticks, a.k.a. Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band! Radio Margaritaville brings you their December 2005 benefit concert from Aspen, Colorado on this week’s Jimmy Buffett Concert Replay.

Broadcast schedule:
Thursday, December 22nd at 10:00 am ET
Friday, December 23rd at 12:01 am ET
Saturday, December 24th at 6:00 pm ET

Listen to the shows on RadioMargaritaville.com and Sirius/XM.

Grammy-award winning percussionist, songwriter, producer, and long time Coral Reefer member Ralph MacDonald passed away after a battle with lung cancer at age 67.

A message from Nefra-Ann MacDonald, daughter of legendary percussionist Ralph MacDonald: “At 12:50 AM my dad lost his battle with lung cancer. Details for his service to come. Thank you all for your support of my dad and our family. Ralph MacDonald, my papa. I’ll miss you.” Grace MacDonald; Atlba MacDonald.

From Paul Leslie: Mr. Ralph MacDonald has passed away. He was a friend and also one of the most talented songwriters the world has known. He wrote “Just the Two of Us,” “Where is the Love?” He was the son of the Calypsonian MacBeth the Great and joined Harry Belafonte’s band at 17 years old. As a conga player he performed with everyone from Frank Sinatra, Billy Joel, Aretha Franklin, Paul Simon…you name it. He was a lovely man. His music will live on, and through his music, so will Ralph.

Ralph was honored at a concert in Stamford CT back in July 2011: “Stamford Grammy-winning musician earns surprise honor”

From the New York Daily News: Jimmy Buffett isn’t impressed by Justin Bieber. At the Child Mind Institute Gala at Cipriani 42 on Thursday, we asked the “Margaritaville” singerwho he was listening to these days. Buffett, 64, who performed at the event, told us his son Cameron Marley had turned him on “to some people that are pretty cool,” but he was having a “senior moment” and couldn’t recall specifics. When we tried to jog his memory by suggesting Bieber’s name, Buffett shook his head. “No, it’s none of that,” he said. “It’s people that actually write songs and get onstage and sing.” Buffett is still doing both. He told us that he’s working on his next album and has given himself a 2013 deadline to complete it.

From WLOX Channel 13: “Margaritaville coming out of the ground in Biloxi”

The landscape in east Biloxi is undergoing a massive makeover with the new Margaritaville casino coming out of the ground on the 5th Street on Back Bay.

“It’s a game changer in South Mississippi,” said Margaritaville President and CEO Tom Brosig, as he gave us a tour of the construction site.

Brosig has been working on a casino project at this site for several years. Once he partnered with superstar Jimmy Buffett and acquired the rights to the name Margaritaville, he knew he was going to create a casino that would capitalize on an acclaimed brand that everyone is familiar with.

Construction is moving along at a dizzying pace. The company owns 26 acres in east Biloxi. The total casino footprint is 82,000 square feet with 26,000 square feet of gaming space.

The nearly $60 million project will feature a restaurant, buffet, and events center. There’s even a giant volcano inside, along with a marina and other outdoor amenities.

Brosig can’t wait to capture the essence of Buffett’s song Margaritaville when they cut the ribbon and open a new chapter in the coast’s casino story.

“With music going and people having fun in the sand and docks and on boats, then I’ll feel fulfilled. I love to see people having fun,” Brosig said.

The casino is scheduled to open by Memorial Day 2012.

From Childmind.org: “Jimmy Buffett Rocks the Benefit”

Last night (Thursday night) was a pretty amazing one for the Child Mind Institute. Several hundred friends and supporters gathered to celebrate the fantastic strides kids with psychiatric and learning disorders can make when they get the right treatment, and to raise more than $5 million to help more kids get the attention they need.

Matt Lauer, the evening’s host, eloquently sang the praises of the evening’s honorees, Jane and Jimmy Buffett, but happily he left the singing itself to Jimmy,gala performance Jimmy Buffett who rocked the house with “Song for the Little Children” and “Volcano.” In a video message Amy Poehler and Will Arnett toasted the Buffetts, who were receiving the Child Advocacy Award, saying they’d personally give them an award for “the best fake Southern accents for real New Yorkers, the best collection of flip flops for a CEO,” and for being “the coolest rich people on the planet.” Getting slightly more serious, they noted that “wealth is measured by kindness and generosity,” and on that score the Buffetts richly deserve the evening’s honor.

From the Wall Street Journal: “Gala Keeps Kids in Mind”

Jimmy Buffett performed at Thursday night’s “Child Mind” gala, which was held inside Cipriani 42nd Street and was hosted by the “Today” show’s Matt Lauer. The event helped raise over $5 million for the Child Mind Institute, which helps children with mental-health issues.

Every now and again, guests wonder how a boldfaced name got set up with a certain institution, but that wasn’t that case here. Mr. Buffett, whose hits include “Margaritaville” and “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” seems to have an incredibly pleasant emotional interior and very sound mental health. Also, he’s friends with Harold S. Koplewicz, the institute’s president.

“I’ve never had a stress-related problem the beach couldn’t solve,” Mr. Buffett said, true to form.

New York City residents in particular, he has noticed, seem sort of stressed-out a lot. “They need to remember they’re on an island,” the singer said. “There are beautiful beaches just over the bridge.”