Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band have been rehearsing in Austin, Texas for the Welcome to Fin Land Tour which kicks off this Saturday in Tampa.

Margarillas on Facebook has been posting behind the scenes videos of the rehearsals. They’re short but worth checking out.

Visit facebook.com/margarillas to watch the videos.

Will Jimmy Buffett land another number one song? He’ll have his chance this summer as the Zac Brown Band will release “Knee Deep,” a duet with Jimmy, as their next single.

In 2003, Jimmy scored his only number song with “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere,” a collaboration with Alan Jackson. After the success of that song, Buffett released License to Chill, an album containing duets with several country stars including Toby Keith, Martina McBride, George Strait, and Clint Black, among others.

Buffett’s had three singles on the charts since “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere.” “Hey Good Lookin'” reached #8 in 2004, “Trip Around the Sun” hit #20 that same year, and “Bama Breeze” reached #58 in 2006.

This isn’t the first time that Jimmy and the Zac Brown Band have partnered up. In December of 2009 they taped an episode of “CMT Crossroads” that aired in March of last year.

The Zac Brown Band is riding high right now. Music legend James Taylor joined them at the ACM Awards last Sunday to perform their latest single “Colder Weather” (Watch Now), and then this past week the single went to number one on the Billboard Top Country Songs chart.

Be sure to check out our sister site Zac Brown Band World.

A caller to WDOK in Cleveland, Ohio told a story recently of Jimmy Buffett funding a trip to the Gulf Coast for a group of middle schoolers.

A Dayton, OH teacher wrote to Jimmy hoping to get a couple of t-shirts to raffle off and raise money for a field trip to an aquarium in Kentucky. Jimmy got in touch with the teacher and paid for the group to travel by bus to Gulf Shores, and funded their condos, meals, and excursions.

Listen to the call below:

It was the final hurdle for the Margaritaville Casino & Restaurant in Biloxi, and on Thursday the Gaming Commission unanimously approved the plans for the $51 million project.

Jimmy Buffett was in Biloxi and attended the meeting:

“I obviously am very pleased to be back here and be part of this,” Buffett told the Gaming Commission and a room full of people, including several local casino general managers.

Buffett said he asked to ride down U.S. 90 along the beach on his way to the meeting to see how the area has recovered from Hurricane Katrina and the Gulf oil spill.

“No’s not a good answer for me,” he said, He developed a new partnership with local casino veteran Tom Brosig and other developers.

“Now we’re on the Back Bay,” he said, “and I like it.”

In the first phase of the casino off Fifth Street in East Biloxi will be a small casino, a Margaritaville restaurant and lounge, a store, an events center and a full-service marina, said John Cohlan, chief executive officer of Margaritaville Holdings. He said the cost is $50 million and the resort will create 650 permanent jobs.

Phase II will add 20,000 square feet to the casino, create a Gulf Coast museum, highlighting local musicians and history, and enhance the marina at an estimated cost of $35 million.

Gaming Commissioner John Hairston said the small size of the casino proposed in Phase I won’t create any additional benefit to the local market, but the Margaritaville brand will bring more visitors and jobs to Biloxi.

“I have a great deal of professional and personal interest in growing the economy of the Coast,” he said.
“We’re ready to start shoveling,” Buffett said,

The Florida resolution honoring Jimmy Buffett we told you about yesterday was voted on and passed today. That officially makes Saturday, April 16th “Jimmy Buffett Day” in the state of Florida!

And appropriately the Welcome to Fin Land Tour kicks off that night in Tampa.

Congrats Jimmy on this honor!