It’s been over a month since we first reported the likely date for the Alpine Valley show and today it’s finally confirmed:

East Troy, WI
Alpine Valley Music Theater
Saturday, August 25th

Tickets go on sale Saturday, May 12th at 10 am.

Jimmy Buffett was back in New Orleans on Thursday night where he played an acoustic show with help from Mac McAnally and Sonny Landreth. The concert included the debut of a new song entitled “Serpentine”:

A new composition called “Serpentine” made its world premiere at Jazz Fest. It celebrated Mardi Gras with an ambling, bluesy arrangement: “Two weeks out of the year, it’s all about sin….count me in.”

The Times Picayune has a great writeup on the show:

Seated center stage, surrounded by an arsenal of stringed instruments, Buffett showed up for work barefoot, in shorts, a purple polo shirt, sunglasses and a baseball cap. At his side was Mac McAnally, a member of the Coral Reefer Band and an acclaimed country songwriter and instrumentalist. Lafayette’s Sonny Landreth, another frequent collaborator, alternated electric and acoustic slide on some songs; a percussionist also helped out.

With the Coral Reefer Band, he generally closes out a Saturday at Jazz Fest. There was far more available real estate at the Acura Stage for the unplugged, weekday Buffett show than last year’s fully amped, weekend show. He reveled in the change in latitude, if not attitude: “It’s great to be playing ‘locals Thursday’!”

Noting that “we’re playing a home game tonight,” he sprinkled his set with references to Werlein’s, Morning Call, Cochon, Frenchmen Street and his pal Sean Payton. “This is where it all started. New Orleans was my Paris before I got to Paris.”

Read the full article here.

The ribbon-cutting is nearing for Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville Casino and Restaurant in Biloxi. The Sun Herald reports that the casino will open May 22nd.

Once the VIP celebration gets under way at 5 p.m., the resort opens to the public at 8 p.m.
Buffett says he will be in Biloxi that day, said casino president Tom Brosig, but he’s saving some surprises for the opening.

There are still plenty of finishing touches to be completed before the $62 million resort makes its debut. Fifth Street, which will provide a tropical entrance to the resort, is nearly rebuilt and should get its first layer of pavement this week.

The Biloxi property is the first stand-alone Margaritaville Casino, and it’s built in the city where Buffett played his first professional gig. Brosig said about 24 investors are part of the project and 20 percent to 30 percent of them are local.

This is the ninth casino Brosig has opened. “I’m expecting big things for this property,” he said. Marketing started this week and the website goes live Friday.

Read the full story and view a photo gallery here.