From Jim Mayer: Whoever thought a party could change the world? Jimmy brought us together and taught me fun can do just about anything. From a smile to a song and everything in between, the love will find us if we let it. La Vie Dansante!! ...
Before Jimmy Buffett became synonymous with Margaritaville, Parrot Heads and an entire lifestyle industry, there was a scruffier, stranger and considerably less predictable band finding its way through the bars and back roads of Key West, FL. That formative era is the focus of the new documentary OCCUPATIONAL HAZARD: THE FIRST CORAL REEFERS, and ahead of its theatrical release tomorrow (Sept. 5 — a day after the annual Jimmy Buffett Day), SPIN is premiering an exclusive clip that captures some of the original Coral Reefer Band’s gloriously unvarnished spirit. In the excerpt, longtime Buffett tour/road manager Bob Liberman — better known as “Lip Balm” — recalls the late harmonica player Greg “Fingers” Taylor and his refusal to let success get in the way of a perfectly good pillowcase.Before Jimmy Buffett became synonymous with Margaritaville, Parrot Heads and an entire lifestyle industry, there was a scruffier, stranger and considerably less predictable band finding its way through the bars and back roads of Key West, FL.
That formative era is the focus of the new documentary OCCUPATIONAL HAZARD: THE FIRST CORAL REEFERS, and ahead of its theatrical release tomorrow (Sept. 5 — a day after the annual Jimmy Buffett Day), SPIN is premiering an exclusive clip that captures some of the original Coral Reefer Band’s gloriously unvarnished spirit. In the excerpt, longtime Buffett tour/road manager Bob Liberman — better known as “Lip Balm” — recalls the late harmonica player Greg “Fingers” Taylor and his refusal to let success get in the way of a perfectly good pillowcase.
As Buffett started making more money and the band graduated to increasingly nicer hotels, Liberman says, the musicians naturally upgraded their luggage. Taylor, however, stuck with the same humble approach: a pillowcase stuffed with his clothes. The sight of the band pulling up to a Ritz-Carlton while a sharply dressed bellman waited for luggage only to be handed Taylor’s pillowcase became, in Liberman’s telling, a running source of amusement.
It’s a small, wonderfully human anecdote that gets at the larger story Occupational Hazard Film sets out to tell: before the polished Coral Reefer Band audiences would come to know over the following decades, Buffett and his musicians were young players chasing a dream, living on the road and making it up as they went.
Directed and produced by John H. Cunningham and produced by Ted E. Haynes, OCCUPATIONAL HAZARD: THE FIRST CORAL REEFERS journeys back to the 1970s and early ’80s, when Key West provided both the setting and creative catalyst for the music Buffett was building with his original band. The film draws on rare, never-before-seen archival footage and interviews with founding members, road crew, producers and other music figures, including Kenny Chesney, Mac McAnally and songwriter Keith Sykes. Academy Award-winner Jeff Bridges narrates.
The documentary premiered at the 2026 Santa Barbara International Film Festival and has since picked up accolades on the festival circuit. A U.S. and Canadian digital on-demand release is scheduled for November.
For Cunningham, preserving these stories was particularly urgent given that many of the original players are no longer around. The director, who first saw Buffett and the Coral Reefers perform in 1977 before moving to Key West the following year, describes those early musicians as living through what Taylor called the band’s “heavy artillery years” — a period defined by chaos, creativity, uncertainty and the kind of camaraderie that could produce both a signature sound and a punchline at a fancy hotel.
Buffett would ultimately record 32 studio albums, 14 live albums and 11 compilations across a five-decade career before his death in 2023, but OCCUPATIONAL HAZARD argues that much of the music that would define his concerts and enduring cultural legacy took shape during these unruly early years. As Cunningham puts it, Buffett’s final message to his friends was simple: “Keep the party going.” Indeed, OCCUPATIONAL HAZARD goes back to find out where that party began. ...
Today is Jimmy Buffett Day, and what better way to celebrate than with a look back at Jimmy doing what he did best—playing music right here in Key West.💛🎶 These are just a few of the moments he shared on stages across the island, leaving behind a legacy that will always have a home in the Florida Keys. 🌴 The celebration is already underway in Key West, with Just A Few Friends Key West bringing a weekend of live music, island festivities, and plenty of ways to honor Jimmy’s legacy. ...
From Radio Margaritaville: Join us for a very special Jimmy Buffett Day LIVE broadcast from Key West. JD Spradlin will be on Duval St. broadcasting from Margaritaville from 5-8pm ET to celebrate Jimmy Buffett day. If you're in Key West, swing by...OR join us on Radio Margaritaville.Join us for a very special Jimmy Buffett Day LIVE broadcast TODAY from Key West, FL! JD Spradlin will be on Duval St. broadcasting from Margaritaville from 5-8pm ET. If you're in Key West, swing by...OR join us on Radio Margaritaville if you can't make it to the Conch Republic for the holiday. It's part of a full day of honoring Jimmy's legacy the only way we know how, by spreading pure joy and keeping the party going together!
Margaritaville | Margaritaville Restaurant, Key West | Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefers ...
I am hosting a special (FREE!) live event tomorrow evening around 8PM EST, 'Remembering Jimmy'.
It's been almost 3 years since our Captain has set sail, and I'd like to take some time to process and remember him with you all.
I'll play some songs and share stories, and I'd like to hear YOUR stories and memories too! Share your stories in the comments and we'll pick some special ones to share during the live event tomorrow!
From Lucy Buffett: As Jimmy Buffett’s fight with skin cancer came to an end, she was among family members who came to his bedside. He had one last piece of advice for her, she said.
“He said, ‘Come here, come here,’” she said. “And I couldn’t understand what he was saying a little bit. And then he said, ‘Have fun.’”
“Because he knew that I’m sort of a grinder and a worker bee,” she said. “And he said, ‘Have fun.’ His message to me is, look, it’s over sooner than you think. Go have some fun. You’ve done great. And that’s the message I’ve taken.” ...
Parrotheads, rejoice. Your gathering spot is almost finished.
The Mobile City Council on Tuesday approved a $32,623 purchase of a pedestal for a Jimmy Buffett statue. The last-minute addition to the council agenda marks one of the final pieces of a vision to reimagine the National Maritime Museum of the Gulf on the city’s waterfront.
“Almost two years in the making, and we’re getting there,” said Karen Poth, executive director of the museum. “You can see there’s stuff going up all over the place.”
Set to open the weekend of Sept. 12-13, “Jimmy Buffett: Son of a Son of a Sailor Experience” will have timed entry slots. Tickets already are on sale on the museum’s website. It is included in the $19 admission price. ...
See Jimmy Buffet Photo Exhibit as you view his early years through the lens of someone who was there.
Join us for the opening of Through the Lens, a special photography exhibit featuring Chris Lauber’s vintage concert photographs of Jimmy Buffett from the 1970s.
These aren’t just snapshots, they’re firsthand glimpses into a formative era, capturing the energy, spirit and evolution of an artist whose story would become forever connected to Key West and the Jimmy Buffett Photo Exhibit.
Meet Chris during this special opening reception for the Jimmy Buffett Photo Exhibit, hear some of the stories behind the photographs, and get an up-close look at this rare collection.
Friday, September 4th
4:15–5 PM
Pier House Resort & Spa | Lobby outside the Chart Room
FREE & open to the public
Can’t make the reception? The Jimmy Buffet Photo Exhibit will remain on display at Pier House throughout the festival weekend.
From Jim Mayer: Whoever thought a party could change the world? Jimmy brought us together and taught me fun can do just about anything. From a smile to a song and everything in between, the love will find us if we let it. La Vie Dansante!! ...
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Before Jimmy Buffett became synonymous with Margaritaville, Parrot Heads and an entire lifestyle industry, there was a scruffier, stranger and considerably less predictable band finding its way through the bars and back roads of Key West, FL.
That formative era is the focus of the new documentary OCCUPATIONAL HAZARD: THE FIRST CORAL REEFERS, and ahead of its theatrical release tomorrow (Sept. 5 — a day after the annual Jimmy Buffett Day), SPIN is premiering an exclusive clip that captures some of the original Coral Reefer Band’s gloriously unvarnished spirit. In the excerpt, longtime Buffett tour/road manager Bob Liberman — better known as “Lip Balm” — recalls the late harmonica player Greg “Fingers” Taylor and his refusal to let success get in the way of a perfectly good pillowcase.Before Jimmy Buffett became synonymous with Margaritaville, Parrot Heads and an entire lifestyle industry, there was a scruffier, stranger and considerably less predictable band finding its way through the bars and back roads of Key West, FL.
That formative era is the focus of the new documentary OCCUPATIONAL HAZARD: THE FIRST CORAL REEFERS, and ahead of its theatrical release tomorrow (Sept. 5 — a day after the annual Jimmy Buffett Day), SPIN is premiering an exclusive clip that captures some of the original Coral Reefer Band’s gloriously unvarnished spirit. In the excerpt, longtime Buffett tour/road manager Bob Liberman — better known as “Lip Balm” — recalls the late harmonica player Greg “Fingers” Taylor and his refusal to let success get in the way of a perfectly good pillowcase.
As Buffett started making more money and the band graduated to increasingly nicer hotels, Liberman says, the musicians naturally upgraded their luggage. Taylor, however, stuck with the same humble approach: a pillowcase stuffed with his clothes. The sight of the band pulling up to a Ritz-Carlton while a sharply dressed bellman waited for luggage only to be handed Taylor’s pillowcase became, in Liberman’s telling, a running source of amusement.
It’s a small, wonderfully human anecdote that gets at the larger story Occupational Hazard Film sets out to tell: before the polished Coral Reefer Band audiences would come to know over the following decades, Buffett and his musicians were young players chasing a dream, living on the road and making it up as they went.
Directed and produced by John H. Cunningham and produced by Ted E. Haynes, OCCUPATIONAL HAZARD: THE FIRST CORAL REEFERS journeys back to the 1970s and early ’80s, when Key West provided both the setting and creative catalyst for the music Buffett was building with his original band. The film draws on rare, never-before-seen archival footage and interviews with founding members, road crew, producers and other music figures, including Kenny Chesney, Mac McAnally and songwriter Keith Sykes. Academy Award-winner Jeff Bridges narrates.
The documentary premiered at the 2026 Santa Barbara International Film Festival and has since picked up accolades on the festival circuit. A U.S. and Canadian digital on-demand release is scheduled for November.
For Cunningham, preserving these stories was particularly urgent given that many of the original players are no longer around. The director, who first saw Buffett and the Coral Reefers perform in 1977 before moving to Key West the following year, describes those early musicians as living through what Taylor called the band’s “heavy artillery years” — a period defined by chaos, creativity, uncertainty and the kind of camaraderie that could produce both a signature sound and a punchline at a fancy hotel.
Buffett would ultimately record 32 studio albums, 14 live albums and 11 compilations across a five-decade career before his death in 2023, but OCCUPATIONAL HAZARD argues that much of the music that would define his concerts and enduring cultural legacy took shape during these unruly early years. As Cunningham puts it, Buffett’s final message to his friends was simple: “Keep the party going.” Indeed, OCCUPATIONAL HAZARD goes back to find out where that party began. ...
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Today is Jimmy Buffett Day, and what better way to celebrate than with a look back at Jimmy doing what he did best—playing music right here in Key West.💛🎶
These are just a few of the moments he shared on stages across the island, leaving behind a legacy that will always have a home in the Florida Keys. 🌴
The celebration is already underway in Key West, with Just A Few Friends Key West bringing a weekend of live music, island festivities, and plenty of ways to honor Jimmy’s legacy. ...
3 CommentsComment on Facebook
From Radio Margaritaville: Join us for a very special Jimmy Buffett Day LIVE broadcast from Key West. JD Spradlin will be on Duval St. broadcasting from Margaritaville from 5-8pm ET to celebrate Jimmy Buffett day. If you're in Key West, swing by...OR join us on Radio Margaritaville.Join us for a very special Jimmy Buffett Day LIVE broadcast TODAY from Key West, FL! JD Spradlin will be on Duval St. broadcasting from Margaritaville from 5-8pm ET. If you're in Key West, swing by...OR join us on Radio Margaritaville if you can't make it to the Conch Republic for the holiday. It's part of a full day of honoring Jimmy's legacy the only way we know how, by spreading pure joy and keeping the party going together!
Margaritaville | Margaritaville Restaurant, Key West | Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefers ...
1 CommentsComment on Facebook
From Jim Mayer:
I am hosting a special (FREE!) live event tomorrow evening around 8PM EST, 'Remembering Jimmy'.
It's been almost 3 years since our Captain has set sail, and I'd like to take some time to process and remember him with you all.
I'll play some songs and share stories, and I'd like to hear YOUR stories and memories too! Share your stories in the comments and we'll pick some special ones to share during the live event tomorrow!
Here's your link to join - hope to see you there!
jimmayer.org/rememberingjimmy
substack.com/@jimmayermusic/note/c-325975050?utm_source=notes-share-action&utm_medium=web ...
LIVE SOON: Remembering Jimmy | Free Subscriber Event
jimmayer.org
Starting Aug 31 at 8:00 PM EDT1 CommentsComment on Facebook
RIP Dolly Parton ...
2 CommentsComment on Facebook
From Lucy Buffett: As Jimmy Buffett’s fight with skin cancer came to an end, she was among family members who came to his bedside. He had one last piece of advice for her, she said.
“He said, ‘Come here, come here,’” she said. “And I couldn’t understand what he was saying a little bit. And then he said, ‘Have fun.’”
“Because he knew that I’m sort of a grinder and a worker bee,” she said. “And he said, ‘Have fun.’ His message to me is, look, it’s over sooner than you think. Go have some fun. You’ve done great. And that’s the message I’ve taken.”
...
Jimmy Buffett’s sister says it’s time to take her brother’s parting advice
www.al.com
Lucy 'LuLu' Buffett said she's grateful for a new ...13 CommentsComment on Facebook
Parrotheads, rejoice. Your gathering spot is almost finished.
The Mobile City Council on Tuesday approved a $32,623 purchase of a pedestal for a Jimmy Buffett statue. The last-minute addition to the council agenda marks one of the final pieces of a vision to reimagine the National Maritime Museum of the Gulf on the city’s waterfront.
“Almost two years in the making, and we’re getting there,” said Karen Poth, executive director of the museum. “You can see there’s stuff going up all over the place.”
Set to open the weekend of Sept. 12-13, “Jimmy Buffett: Son of a Son of a Sailor Experience” will have timed entry slots. Tickets already are on sale on the museum’s website. It is included in the $19 admission price.
...
Exclusive sneak peek: Jimmy Buffett exhibit nears completion at Mobile’s maritime museum
www.fox10tv.com
Parrotheads, rejoice. Your gathering spot is almos...4 CommentsComment on Facebook
See Jimmy Buffet Photo Exhibit as you view his early years through the lens of someone who was there.
Join us for the opening of Through the Lens, a special photography exhibit featuring Chris Lauber’s vintage concert photographs of Jimmy Buffett from the 1970s.
These aren’t just snapshots, they’re firsthand glimpses into a formative era, capturing the energy, spirit and evolution of an artist whose story would become forever connected to Key West and the Jimmy Buffett Photo Exhibit.
Meet Chris during this special opening reception for the Jimmy Buffett Photo Exhibit, hear some of the stories behind the photographs, and get an up-close look at this rare collection.
Friday, September 4th
4:15–5 PM
Pier House Resort & Spa | Lobby outside the Chart Room
FREE & open to the public
Can’t make the reception? The Jimmy Buffet Photo Exhibit will remain on display at Pier House throughout the festival weekend.
Come take a walk through a little piece of music history
buffettnews.com/2026/08/18/33024/ ...
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2026 Jimmy Buffett Day merchandise is now available. Keep the party going!!!
margaritavillestore.com/collections/jimmy-buffett-dayJimmy Buffett Day merch has dropped! 🌴
Shop now at mville.io/45RZUC9 ...
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