Jimmy Buffett was in New York City Thursday night for the 40th annual New York City Police Foundation charity gala:

On Thursday night, they were at the Waldorf-Astoria because the New York City Police Foundation held its 40th annual gala and honored Ron Perelman, in an event that raised nearly $2.3 million, according to an event representative.

An audience of 700 guests, including Michael Douglas, gaming-resort developer Richard T. Fields, Chevy Chase, Jimmy Buffett and Penny Marshall enjoyed a four-song Jon Bon Jovi concert.

But wait, wasn’t rock ‘n’ roll supposed to rebel against the law?

According to Mr. Buffett, that’s passé. “One of the great things in rock ‘n’ roll is you get a police escort,” he said. “There are many times I’ve been stopped by them, so it’s nice to be led by them.” He remembered once seeing a Grateful Dead sticker on an NYPD cop car and thinking to himself, “You know? It might be time to get over our ’60s mentality—the pigs versus hippies thing.”

In fact, what was apparent at the gala was that an awful lot of police officers have entertainment impulses, and an awful lot of entertainers have law-enforcement impulses.

“I’d want to be a helicopter pilot,” said Mr. Buffett.

Buffett with Kevin Jonas

Jon Bon Jovi, Buffett, Raymond Kelly, and Michael Douglas

Jimmy Buffett, an avid Miami Heat fan, was in attendance at Tuesday night’s NBA finals game between the Heat and the Dallas Mavericks:

As usual, a championship event brought out plenty of A-list celebrities. Musicians Ludacris , Jimmy Buffett and Gloria Estefan were spotted in the crowd. Michael McDonald , formerly of the Doobie Brothers and Steely Dan, sang the national anthem. NBA great Magic Johnson spent time shaking hands with fans and signing autographs before the tip.

Also at the game, according to a Heat official, were former Cowboys receiver Michael Irvin, who played his college ball at Miami ; rapper Timbaland; film and television producer Jerry Bruckheimer; Cuban-American singer Jon Secada ; Florida Sen. Marco Rubio; and Miami Dolphins offensive tackle Vernon Carey.

Jimmy Buffett performed Saturday night at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, and Kenny Chesney made a surprise appearance to join Jimmy in singing “Come Monday” and “Back Where I Come From.”

View the full set list here.

See photos and watch video clips below:

(hat tip to Lisa for the photo and video)

Dubbed the “Buried Treasure” project, Jimmy Buffett says that he’s come across a collection of unreleased songs from the late 60’s and early 70’s that he plans to release soon:

The “Buried Treasure” project includes at least 20 original songs and perhaps some cover material Buffett recorded in Nashville between 1969 and 1973 with original producer Travis Turk.

“Two years ago they were going to sell the studio we were working at and owners said go through this and see if there’s anything you can use. He found 74 original songs I forgot I had written,” Buffett says. “It’s really, right back to the beginning stuff. … I’m going back and listening to myself during these times and it’s sparking stories. I don’t remember writing a lot of these songs but once I hear them stuff starts coming back. So I’m doing a narration through this material that we found. I’m going to do that as a project. They were tape recordings they were about to throw out. Some is cover stuff, but the original stuff there’s probably about 20 songs that I had forgotten I had written. … It’s something people might want to add to their collection.”

Although he’s uncertain when Buried Treasure might be released, Buffett says his work on the project should be done in the next couple months. “I’m working on that on the road.”

Meanwhile, he’s written some new songs, but says, “I’m at that point now where, do I really want to go into the studio and put out another album? I’ve got four or five songs new songs. Why don’t I just go in and record them and put them up on line? I’m not sure people really want to go get a whole album collection because of how iTunes has kind of taken the album away.”

Stay tuned, he says. “I’m kind of toying with how you go forward with new material. In the meantime I certainly know how to deal with this old material. They will want that as a collection.”

In an interview with USA Today that focuses mainly on releasing old material, Jimmy Buffett says he’s going to work on the tailgating prohibition at Jiffy Lube Live in Bristow, Virginia. Spokespeople for Jiffy Lube Live and owner Live Nation have said that they are cracking down on tailgating at the venue that is known for great pre-partying.

When told there wasn’t going to be partying in the parking lot, the singer said, “Who’s stupid idea was that? … I’m glad to hear that. I’ll get right on that. I believe I can take care of that. It must be some city thing, but it’s not me.”

The venue, formerly known as Nissan Pavilion “is one of the biggest tailgating places ever,” he says. “We got time, I can really get into that. … I’m going to fire a little shot to the Live Nation people.”

The Jiffy Lube Live concert will be held August 27th.