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Buffett’s Last Performance was Two Months Ago in Rhode Island

September 7th, 2023


Jimmy Buffett’s last public performance was a surprise appearance at a Mac McAnally show on July 2nd at Sunset Cove in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. View the set list and scroll down to view photos and videos from the performance.


photo by Jim McGaw

From the Boston Globe: Jimmy Buffett’s final live show was a surprise performance at a Rhode Island restaurant

Jimmy Buffett was in Rhode Island just two months before his death, strumming his six-string guitar during the golden hour at a waterfront venue for 300 loyal fans — a surprise performance that would be his very last, and one that the restaurant’s owner and attendees will remember for a lifetime.

“Looking back, you can’t put a price on what it meant to the people that were here,” said Mike MacFarlane, owner of the waterfront café, who was celebrating his 50th birthday when Buffett decided to drop by.

Sunset Cove sold 300 tickets for the concert, and on the morning of the performance, McAnally got a FaceTime from Buffett, who was in Long Island “going stir crazy around the house.” He hadn’t performed in a while, and recently had to cancel a concert in South Carolina after being hospitalized in Boston.

“His doctors won’t let him tour right now,” MacFarlane recalled McAnally telling him at the time. “But he’s on the mend. He’s recuperating. He’s feeling good and wants to come up and do a few songs.”

At around 3 p.m., MacFarlane learned that Buffett was on his way to Middletown Regional Airport to perform at Sunset Cove.

MacFarlane was thrilled. He didn’t tell anyone.

“I said, ‘Listen. If we’re going to do this, let’s make sure all these people out here have the best day ever, that they are so surprised.’ We’re not going to let this leak, and we didn’t,” MacFarlane said.

MacFarlane and McAnally picked up Buffett, his daughter, and their pilot in Middletown, drove to the venue, and brought them backstage.

“They spent a little time catching up with Mac and tuning guitars and putting a little setlist together,” MacFarlane recalled.

The concert kicked off with one solo song from McAnally, before he rolled into Buffet’s “It’s 5 O’Clock Somewhere.” When McAnally sang the lyrics “What would Jimmy Buffett do?” Buffett stepped onto the stage right on cue.

The crowd erupted with cheers.

“The moment was everything I could have hoped for, and then some,” MacFarlane said. “The wow-factor. The electricity. It’s hard to describe, other than truly amazing.”

Buffett performed between six and eight songs, and was on stage for about 45 minutes.

“His energy was great. His attitude was great. He sounded great … it just seemed like he had every intention of going back on the road some time this fall,” MacFarlane said.

Like so many others, MacFarlane was shocked by the news of Buffet’s death just a few months later.

“It was exactly 60 days prior that he stood on our stage, was backstage hanging out, having fun, laughing, and taking pictures with all of us,” he said. “It just meant so much to so many people.”

“Some of it magic and some of it tragic, as Jimmy would say,” he said.


photo by Jim McGaw


photo by Jim McGaw


photo by Sunset Cove


Tagged in Special Appearances

Buffett Makes Surprise Appearance at Mac McAnally Show

July 3rd, 2023


Coral Reefer Band member Mac McAnally had a show in Portsmouth, Rhode Island on Sunday evening and Jimmy Buffett made a surprise appearance where he performed six songs.

From the Providence Journal

The singer-songwriter made an impromptu appearance at Sunset Cove on Sunday afternoon, bringing the crowd to its feet screaming when he appeared on stage.

A video of the concert posted to Facebook shows Mac McAnally, the advertised headliner for the show and longtime member of The Coral Reefer Band, in the middle of singing “It’s Five O’clock Somewhere,” and when he gets to the lyric “At a moment like this, I can’t help but wonder what would Jimmy Buffett do,” Buffett himself showed up with an answer.

“How ‘bout I play it for you,” he said, picking up a guitar.

At the end of the song, Buffett, who was briefly hospitalized in Boston in May and had to postpone a show, said “well, it is good to see an audience, let me tell you that.”

Buffett went on to play for about 45 minutes, according to Arsenault.

Why Jimmy Buffett was there
At this point, you’ve got to be wondering how they pulled whole thing off. Here’s the story.

McAnally is a friend of Sunset Cove owner Mike MacFarlane. He played at Sunset Cove back in 2019, and over a February lunch in Key West, MacFarlane asked if McAnally would come back to play at Sunset Cove again this summer.

The stars aligned so McAnally could come on July 2, which also just so happened to be MacFarlane’s 50th birthday.

In addition to “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere,” Buffett played six songs on stage. One of them was “A Pirate Looks at Forty” – which he changed to 50 in a nod to MacFarlane’s big celebration.


Tagged in Coral Reefers, Special Appearances

Buffett Performs at Monte Rio Variety Show

July 29th, 2022


The Monte Rio Variety Show was held Thursday night in California to raise money for the Monte Rio Fire Services Foundation, Monte Rio School Foundation and St. Catherine’s Catholic Church. Conan O’Brien hosted the event, and Jimmy Buffett was one of the performers.

Read more about the event: “Monte Rio Variety Show draws thousands for Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Buffett, Carlos Reyes”


Kent Porter / The Press Democrat 2022


Tagged in Charitable Causes, Special Appearances

Jimmy Finds His Lost Shaker of Salt on Tonight Show

May 12th, 2022


On Wednesday night, Jimmy Buffett appeared on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. Buffett performed “Margaritaville” and then stopped when he spotted his lost shaker of salt on Fallon’s desk. Buffett then joined Florence Welch for a rendition of “Margaritaville.”

Buffett was also interviewed on the show and reminisced about his first appearance on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, 41 years ago, about how he stayed connected to his fans over the pandemic and his connection to New Orleans and Bourbon Street.

Watch the interview:


Tagged in Special Appearances, Television, Videos

Travel to Antarctica with Jimmy Buffett

March 31st, 2022


Insider Expeditions is voyaging to Antarctica in December 2022 with Jimmy Buffett, Mac McAnally, and other Coral Reefers and you can join them:

Insider Expeditions invites you on this a once-in-a-lifetime musical expedition to the southernmost seas. Jimmy has always been a sailor, captain, and frequent traveler to remote and exotic places around the world, and Antarctica is one of the few places still on his bucket list. This is the chance to check it off yours, too.

This inspiring polar voyage will bring support and awareness to the important work and missions of Ocean Conservancy and Singing For Change, each working to build ocean health and resilience, as well as to advance science-based solutions to protect the ocean from today’s greatest global challenges. Jimmy is donating his time and legendary talent to bring his magic to this important cause and the one continent where he has not yet performed.

Board our chartered plane from Buenos Aires and take off for the Southernmost City in the World – Ushuaia, Argentina, where you will set sail on the World Navigator, your nautical home and one of the newest and most environmentally friendly ships ever built towards Antarctica. Cruise along ice-filled fjords and among spectacular icebergs in the company of seabirds, penguins, seals, and whales, and enjoy expert-led discussions on the wildlife, geology, and conservation of the remarkable region.

Joined by 10-time CMA Musician of the Year and longtime Coral Reefer band member, Mac McAnally, and other special Coral Reefer friends, this exclusive voyage is limited to 150 tickets and will feature multiple intimate seventh-continent concerts with the musicians, a Seventh Continent Conversation with Jimmy, world-class excursions around Antarctica, and plenty of special surprises!

This is more than a journey of a lifetime – it is a chance to visit a place that has beckoned scientists, explorers, adventurers, and artists alike for two centuries as one of the most extraordinary places on the planet.

Prices start at $25,975 per person.

For more information, go to InsiderExpeditions.com


Tagged in International, Parrotheads, Special Appearances