From WKRG: “Jimmy Buffett Returns to Hometown for Bridge Dedication”
Jimmy Buffett returned to his hometown of Pascagoula, Mississippi to give a concert for the first time ever. “It kind of got me thinking about those earlier days more than I have in a long time,” Buffett told News 5. “That was pretty cool!”. The city honored Buffett by naming the bridge on Beach Boulevard near 11th street, “Buffett Bridge.”
Buffett told the crowd that when he was a young boy, he loved crabbing at the bridge, which was close to his grandparent’s house.
“His grandfather was a great ship’s captain. One day, he pulled out a map and asked Jimmy ‘where on this map are we?’ And Jimmy pointed, ‘right here in Pascagoula! His grandfather said, ‘well let me show you a bit more’ and he showed him this little blue stream which was Baptiste Bayou, where we named the bridge after Jimmy, and he said to him, ‘you follow this to the Gulf and beyond and you can do anything you want to do in life,’” Pacagoula Mayor Harry Blevins said.
From GulfLive: “Jimmy Buffett: From Pascagoula to Paris in a week”
“I’ve never sang on the beach in Pascagoula before,” Buffett quipped. “So let’s just start here.”
He then sang a nine song acoustic set, accompanied by his long time side man in the Coral Reefer Band and fellow Mississippian Mac McAnally for a crowd of about 5,000 adoring fans that had gathered under a cloudless South Mississippi sky just for the occasion.
Buffett arrived in town in style…he guided his sea plane into Pascagoula from New Orleans and landed on Krebs Lake around one Saturday afternoon.
The set list from the show is now available. The 40 minute show included a cover The Byrds “Mr. Space Man” and “The Captain And The Kid” as the encore.
Proud bc both out sons and wives started housekeeping in colonial appts. Miles.
Now I tell their children .ours. about the story j immys grandmother told me while working in flowers at Jeffers. About the sail boat put in water of bayou and then walk to front beach and see that it could sail to anywhere in world.
Ive told that story many times in oasis while volunteering 1 & 2 graders. Great example. Lol
Bless you for passing on the wisdom of Jimmy’s Grandfather…may it help many children see across the waters to the endless possibilities that lay ahead of them.