Jimmy Buffett has penned many a song about the Gulf Coast and surrounding seas, and it’s no wonder he’s taking to heart the devastating effects of the ongoing BP oil spill. Buffett has issued unrelenting support for the Gulf region recently during its struggles dealing with the effects of the oil spill, and in early July the Parrothead-in-chief took to the Gulf Coast to do just exactly what it is he does best: provide a mental vacation to Margaritaville for concertgoers.

Late in June, Buffett announced a free concert to take place in Gulf Shores, Ala. during the first week of July as a way to boost morale in the Gulf and to attract tourists to the area even despite the oil spill. Hurricane Alex quickly postponed the original July 1 date of the Buffett concert, which included several other big names in the music industry, but Jimmy Buffett isn’t one to let Mother Nature get in his way.

Instead, Buffett and his Coral Reefer Band made an impromptu visit on June 30 to Buffett’s sister Lucy Buffett’s nearby restaurant Lulu’s, where they played a surprise set for hundreds of fans who caught on to the secret show and came to Lulu’s to see “Freddy and the Fishsticks,” as they were dubbed.

While giving Gulf Shores residents a little extra bang for no buck, Jimmy Buffett also stayed true to his word and performed the rescheduled “Jimmy Buffett and Friends: Live from the Gulf Coast” concert, which attracted more than 35,000 Parrotheads for the show.

During his segment in the Gulf Shores show, Buffett pulled out a few gems from his repertoire, including the very fitting tune “When the Coast Is Clear,” a song off his 1986 album Floridays that seemed to be the theme song for the evening. Buffett changed the lyrics to “When the Coast Is Clear” in concert to croon the chorus: “It’s the place that we all love/ Wish it hadn’t happened/ But we’ll still all be here/ Living ’til that day appears/ And our coast is clear.”

Buffett’s free concert in the Gulf was broadcast on CMT and was considered a smash success, also perhaps spawning more shows in the same vein in the near future. BP gave the state of Alabama a $15 million tourism grant in the wake of the oil spill disaster, and CMT reported that artists such as Faith Hill, the Zac Brown Band and Jack Johnson could be next in giving free concerts Tadalis SX in Gulf Shores in the near future.

Jimmy Buffett is still a key figure in attracting tourists to the Gulf Coast even despite the BP oil spill, and his brand new Margaritaville Beach Hotel in Pensacola, Fla. will continue to run while unsightly tar balls wash up on nearby shores. Buffett won’t take a break from this summer’s Under the Big Top Tour to aid relief efforts in the Gulf, however.

His tour will resume Aug. 7 in Camden, N.J. and will run through October with dates around the globe. Jimmy Buffett tickets are still available for many of his forthcoming shows, though tickets go fast since most Buffett concerts feature sellout crowds.

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Category: Music
Keywords: Jimmy Buffett, music, concert, tickets, entertainment