Stubhub has released its annual concert ticket report and Jimmy Buffett’s 2008 Year Of Still Here Tour made a couple of their lists.

Buffet comes in at number 9 on the list of the Top 10 Highest Grossing Tours. Here’s the full list:

1. Madonna
2. Jonas Brothers
3. Bruce Springsteen
4. Bon Jovi
5. Coldplay
6. Kenny Chesney
7. AC/DC
8. Hannah Montana
9. Jimmy Buffett
10. Billy Joel

Buffett was at number 7 last year, and at number 5 in 2006.

What might come as a surprise to some parrotheads, Jimmy does not make the top 10 list for highest ticket prices. The highest average ticket price on Stubhub for 2008 was Madonna at $306. In the number 10 spot was Michael Buble at $189. Jimmy Buffett’s average price was $121 (last year the average Stubhub price was $136 for Buffett).

An interesting note that Stubhub mentions:

For the third consecutive year, six of StubHub’s Top 10 Selling Tours of 2008 also toured 20 years ago or more (Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, AC/DC, Jimmy Buffett, Billy Joel)

See the report here.

Two weeks ago we reported on Jimmy Buffett’s attendance at a University of Florida football game. Buffett joined head coach Urban Meyer (pictured right / AP photo by Mark Humphrey) and the team in the locker room after the game. In today’s edition of the Miami Herald, they expand on Meyer’s love of Buffett’s music and escapism:

At heart, Meyer — one of the country’s best college football coaches — is a fan of Jimmy Buffett. That’s right. Meyer is a Parrot Head. He even owns an official pair of Margaritaville flip-flops.

”Urban doesn’t just like Jimmy Buffett, Urban wants to be Jimmy Buffett,” said Shelley Meyer, Urban’s wife.

“To Urban, Jimmy just has the greatest life because he gets to be laid-back. That’s Urban’s dream, just to be relaxed and have fun.”

There will be no relaxing for Meyer in the next few days. His Florida Gators, ranked No. 2 in nation by The Associated Press with an 11-1 record, play No. 1 Alabama on Saturday in Atlanta for the Southeastern Conference championship.

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The playful side of Urban Meyer can be traced back to a warm summer day in Cincinnati where he was a college player and worked part-time at the Timberwolf Amphitheater. That’s when Meyer met Buffett.

”He really loves the guy,” Shelley said. “We have every Buffett CD ever made and from February to August they literally play nonstop.”

Read the entire article here.

Just in time for Black Friday, vandals in downtown Charleston, South Carolina poured glue into the locks of several businesses, including the Margaritaville Store:

Vandals poured glue inside door locks on dozens of shops along King and Market streets, delaying the start of Black Friday bargain-hunting in the downtown corridor this morning.

A Charleston police officer estimated more than 20 merchants were affected, including Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville, Starbucks and Williams-Sonoma.

A group of locksmiths were scrambling to open doors for patrons waiting outside.

Though the merchants had to open stores later than planned, some said the delay likely wouldn’t affect business because shoppers usually make their way to King Street later in the day on Black Friday.

Jimmy and his son Cameron attended the Florida Gators football game on Saturday in Gainesville, Florida. Coach Urban Meyer was ecstatic, not only because of the 50 point beatdown the Gators put on South Carolina, but because Jimmy joined Meyer on the sideline and in the locker room.

From GatorSports.com:

“Jimmy Buffett was in our locker room, he was,” Meyer said, almost giddy.

“In all seriousness, that’s a big deal,” said Meyer, whose favorite Buffett song is “It’s 5 o’clock somewhere.”

Meyer met Buffett at Super Bowl XLI in Miami. It was raining and Meyer offered the singer a dark Gator jacket, which Buffett also wore to Saturday’s game.

“It’s great to be back in Gainesville seeing the Gators playing this well,” said Buffett, who had his son, Cameron, with him. “It’s been a long time. I like what Coach Meyer is doing here. This has just been a lot of fun tonight.”

TCPalm.com has more:

“In all seriousness, that’s way up there,” a smiling Meyer said. “And I don’t get awed by many people. That’s a hell of a deal, man. You guys don’t believe me.”

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“We’ve been inviting him for three years,” said Shelley Meyer, Urban’s wife. “Urban’s only birthday wish every year is to see a Jimmy Buffett concert, so we go see him in concert. It was great to have him here.”

Funny thing is, the Gator players were oblivious.

“I didn’t really know who he was, but coach loves him so he must be a pretty good singer,” WR/RB Percy Harvin said.

“I didn’t know him,” LB Brandon Spikes said. “He sings margarita something, right?”

They may not know who he is, but they liked something he said.

“He said it’s a pleasure meeting me, he loves watching me and hopefully, we’ll see him in Miami,” QB Tim Tebow said.

The Condé Nast Portfolio has an article on Jimmy Buffett’s recession strategy:

Buffett, the king of easy living, is set to do well in this recession. He’s the first to tell you he sells escapism, allowing his audiences to forget their job insecurity, slumping home values, the market, and instead parachute into paradise for a little while.

I caught up with Buffett last week at Bette Midler’s annual Hulaween Ball. Donning a smoking jacket and pencil-thin mustache as the lady-lovin’ Continental made famous by Christopher Walken on Saturday Night Live, Buffett mused on the economy. In down times like these, with companies laying people off, it’s important for people to find and focus on their niche, he said.

Read the entire article here.