Jimmy Buffett will be a special guest at the University of Miami on Thursday where he’ll give a lecture and host a question and answer session. The event is sponsored by the Frost School of Music and is only open to U of M music students.

“I’m excited that Jimmy Buffet is coming” said Kelly McAleney, a senior music education major. “It’s really rare that students get the chance to see such a huge performer for free, but even more exciting that we get the chance to talk to him and ask him questions.”

In 2005, Jimmy spoke to former Senator Bob Graham’s politics class at Harvard.

After competing plans were presented to the Hollywood, FL city commission, Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville was chosen over Planet Hollywood for a plot of land on the broadwalk:

The site of the new Margaritaville will be just south of Johnson street, across the beach from the broadwalk. The city commission believes it will be a big draw and create more redevelopment in the future.

“I guess if it’s good for tourism, and the people that enjoy that kind of stuff,” said John Ricci, who often performs at the Hollywood Beach Theatre. “But I thought they did a good job with the park.”

People who feel an attachment to Hollywood Beach are a bit skeptical of the news. People like Ken and Deb Golden who met there twenty-five years ago.

“I loved the beach the way it was, like 25 years ago” said Deb Golden. “So the more built up it gets, I don’t know.”

The City of Hollywood is only now beginning negotiations with Margaritaville, so it may be a while before all the parrotheads come to town. But the good news for anyone who enjoys Hollywood Beach, is that the new development will also include a renovation of the band-shell.

And in just a few weeks, a new trolley service will start. It will take passengers between the beach and downtown Hollywood.

The Montreal Gazette has an article on the history of the Jamaican dogsled team, of which Jimmy Buffett has been a big sponsor over the years:

“We had a couple guys from Minnesota come in who knew what they were doing so we didn’t make total fools of ourselves,” Melville said.

It was right around then that Melville met Jimmy Buffett, the iconic American singer behind the song Margaritaville, an anthem of the relaxed Caribbean lifestyle.

“I realized that my crazy idea wasn’t going to be easy to make this into a profitable, successful tour,” said Melville.

The two men pondered the possibilities and saw huge benefits.

“What a great way to promote Jamaica. What a great way to expose the plight of the street dogs in Jamaica. What a great way to make Jamaicans be proud about doing something we shouldn’t be doing, and doing it well.

“What Jimmy (Buffett) liked about it was the opportunity for young Jamaicans, who come from humble backgrounds, to see the world. We decided we needed to race.”

Buffett is now the godfather, major sponsor and huge fan of the dogsled team. But he didn’t make the trip north to the Iditarod: “He says it’s against his religion to go into that cold,” laughed Melville.

Nevertheless, Melville is grateful for Buffett’s support: “We could never have done what we’ve done without him.”

Read the full article here.

Audio samples for each track on Jimmy Buffett’s upcoming live acoustic double album are now available for listening at Margaritaville.com.

Encores, the new live acoustic double CD, features 22 of Jimmy’s intimate final encore songs recorded during the 2008/2009 tour. This unique collection showcases Jimmy solo acoustic (12 songs), features a few special guests and is unlike anything he’s released before.

Listen to the audio samples

Encores arrives April 20th and is available only at Walmart stores, Walmart.com, Margaritaville retail stores and Margaritaville.com. The mp3 digital download will be available only at Walmart.com.

Pre-order now at Walmart.com for $12.00

Jimmy Buffett is expanding his business empire once again, though this time on a much grander scale. According to Gulf News, Buffett’s Margaritaville Enterprises will build a mega resort on an artificial archipelago in the Persian Gulf just off the coast of Dubai:

United States-based Margaritaville Enterprises announced today plans to build a resort and casino on an artificial chain of islands off the coast of Dubai, similar to the Palm Islands.

“We are very excited to bring the Margaritaville experience to the Middle East,” said Tom Rosenbaum, director of operations for Margaritaville Enterprises. “It’s a big step for us, going from the U.S. and the Caribbean to halfway around the world. But we feel the Margaritaville brand will enjoy strong success in the tourist haven of Dubai. It’s really the perfect next step for us.”

The $1.5 billion dollar project will feature one main island and 23 separate, smaller islands. From the air, the archipelago will resemble a margarita glass. The main island will feature a 200,000 sq. ft. casino, a three-story Margaritaville Cafe, and number of shopping and entertainment centers. A four-lane road will connect the main island to the mainland, but the individual islands will only be reachable by boat or underwater, clear tunnels connected to the main island. The 23 islands will have a range of lodging options, from small cottages to large villas.

The islands will be built with sand dredged from the Persian Gulf in the same manner as the Palm Islands. The earth work is scheduled to begin late this year and is expected to take four years to complete. Once the islands are “built,” construction on the resort itself will begin. Final completion for the project is 2016.

This won’t be Buffett’s first foray into casinos. A Margaritaville Casino & Resort is being built in Biloxi, Mississippi, though construction is currently stalled due to the poor economy.

Update – What day is it today?