Buffett Plays First Full-Scale Show Since Start of Pandemic

Jimmy Buffett was in Nashville on Tuesday night for the first of three shows in Music City. It was the first full-scale show for Buffett and the Coral Reefers since the pandemic began.

Buffett encouraged fans to get the vaccine, saying that was the reason that everyone was able to gather last night for the show:

“But we made it here, and I just have to thank people like this band, this crew, first responders, healthcare workers (and) the mRNA researchers who made the vaccine, and made it possible for us to play for you tonight. Get that vaccine. That’s what happened. Fun is back in the world because of that.”

The Tennessean has a review of the show: Jimmy Buffett: ‘Fun is back’ at one of Nashville’s first big post-pandemic concerts

For the last 50 years, a ticket to a Jimmy Buffett concert has served as an invitation to kick back and cut loose. But on Tuesday, the “Parrotheads” of Nashville were ready to do so like never before.

The laidback rocker kicked off his “Life On The Flip Side” tour at Nashville’s Ascend Amphitheater Tuesday night, in the first of three shows he’ll play at the venue this month.

But it was also one of the first large-scale concerts Music City has seen in a year and a half, as the nation bounces back from a pandemic that put the live music business on hold.

“We are back to work!” Buffett exclaimed after opening with the new “Down at the Lah De Dah.”

Jimmy Buffett performs at Ascend Amphitheater in Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday, July 6, 2021.
While always an affable presence on stage, Buffett and his Coral Reefer Band seemed downright giddy to get back to business.

“Walking on this stage — I’ve got to be honest with you. I’ve done this a long time, but that felt as good as anything I’ve ever (expletive) done.”

Read more and see photos from the show at The Tennessean.