Coral Reefer bass guitarist Jim Mayer is blogging his adventures traveling to Australia for the upcoming Down Under tour leg:

It all started early Monday morning. Coral Reefers from around the country were up and moving toward the Hotlanta Airport with our destination, summer time in Sydney Australia, the land called Oz, clearly in our sights.

Peter, Mac and I met up with Nadirah Shakoor and John Lovell and our posse of crew and techs, all good folks and friends for the first leg of our journey, a stop-over in LA. You can imagine the scene, over half of the First Class section filled with the Buffett group. There were movies, chatter and lots of snacks and refreshments. (Let the party begin!)

With the sun long gone on it’s way to the Far Side of the World we took off from LA, enjoyed several movies, some more snacks and some seriously good zzzzzzzs. Before we knew it we were in Sydney where we met up with the rest of the gang that had converged on this incredible city, hopped a huge bus named Jimmy Buffett and were off to our hotel.

Check out the full blog entry here, and read the entry on the first full day in Australia here.

Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band will once again perform at the New Orleans Jazz Festival this year. It will be the first time since 2008 that Buffett’s played the legendary music festival.

The lineup was announced Wednesday night and includes some of the biggest names in music, including Arcade Fire, Bon Jovi, Kid Rock, John Mellencamp, Wilco, Willie Nelson, The Strokes, Robert Plant, Lauryn Hill, Tom Jones, Jeff Beck, Sonny Rollins, Kenny G and John Legend & The Roots.

Buffett is scheduled to play Saturday, May 7th.

A weekend package of four tickets is available for $160. You can also purchase advance single-day tickets for $45. Tickets at the gate are $60.

Visit www.nojazzfest.com for more info.

The Sprint Center is confirming that Jimmy Buffett is indeed coming to Kansas City for a show on Saturday, April 30th.

Tickets will go on sale Monday, Jan. 24 at 10 AM through sprintcenter.com or charge-by-phone at 800.745.3000. In the event that tickets remain, they will be available at Sprint Center Box Office beginning Tuesday, Jan. 25 at 10 AM.

Brenda Tinnen, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Sprint Center said, “Kansas Cityis thrilled to welcome Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band back for the first time since 1997’s Banana Wind Tour. It’s the must-see concert of the summer!”

(Hat tip Lynn and Billy Ray)

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch is confirming what we posted last week, that Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band will perform at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater on Tuesday, May 3rd.

Tickets will go on sale Monday, January 24th at 10 am.

DJ Lindfors, general manager for Verizon, said “We’re excited to kick off our first concert of the season with what will be the biggest event here in 2011 — Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band. We’re thrilled to have them in St. Louis again and look forward to welcoming all the Parrotheads to the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater. Nothing celebrates summer like a Jimmy Buffett concert.”

View all confirmed tour dates here.

Simon Sweetman, writer of the New Zealand Blog on the Tracks, has an excellent interview with Jimmy Buffett as he prepares to head Down Under for three shows in Australia and another in Auckland, NZ.

“I worked out long ago that I’m an average singer, I’m an average guitar player. I’m okay as a musician but nothing flash. But I can tell entertaining stories; I can pack in a lot of material and create a great atmosphere. That’s the party that people come for and that’s what I want to offer – a great amount of fun, a huge party. I’m an entertainer – and I’m very proud of the work I do. I think we do it well; I’ve got a great band.”

And he works hard too. I point out that his last year off – without a tour – was 1983. Buffett laughs hard and says, “yep, that was a lazy year, that one, but I’ve made up for it ever since. I must take another year off – sometime. But I’m lucky: most of what I do is not really work. I’ll make an album, play some shows. I’ll then spend half the year sailing and surfing.”

Read the full interview here.