The show was back on the road Saturday night as Jimmy and the band began the Under The Big Top Tour with a performance at the Ford Amphitheater in Tampa, Florida.

Notable additions to the set list this year include “Knees of My Heart,” “Frank and Lola,” “If the Phone Doesn’t Ring, It’s Me,” “Big Top” and others. “Tin Cup Chalice” finished things off. Buffett also added Mac McAnally’s song “Back Where I Come From,” which Kenny Chesney has made popular over the years.

View the entire set list here.

In a first for Buffett, portions of the show were streamed live on ustream.tv (part of the soundcheck was streamed earlier in the day too).

Update – The videos have been removed from the Big Top Tour ustream channel. You may only be able to watch live streaming in the future.

Did you attend the show? Share your thoughts on our Discussion Board.

The Under The Big Top Tour will continue Tuesday with a show in Atlanta, GA. You can still get your tickets now!

In today’s Miami New Times, music industry veteran Lee Zimmerman writes about his part in helping Jimmy Buffett’s young career:

While Jimmy Buffett was a relative unknown around the rest of the country, he was already a fairly big name in Florida, so it became incumbent upon me to build some local airplay for “Margaritaville” — the first single off his Changes In Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes album. Fortunately, it was one of those rare occasions where some normally conservative stations agreed to give an untested record airplay practically out of the box. Being that he was now considered a native son, and that his lyrics about blown out flip-flops and soothing concoctions aptly reflected the state’s sunnier side, access to their charts seemed appropriate.

Soon, stations from Miami to Jacksonville, and practically everywhere in-between, were blasting the song in heavy rotation, giving impetus to other radio stations across the country to also give it a spin. On May 7, 1977, “Margaritaville” cracked Billboard’s top ten, and Buffett was a big star, one who could finally claim hit-making credentials. And I became a hero in my own right, having launched a chart-topper and helped create a new cash cow. A few weeks later, UPS delivered a plaque to my house — a “gold record” signifying sales of more than a million copies of the album, boasting my name as the object of the label’s gratitude.

Read the entire article here.

The big show returned to South Carolina Tuesday night as Jimmy and the band continued the final session of the Summerzcool Tour with a show in Columbia, South Carolina.

The surprise of the night was a song for Carolina: “Coast of Carolina” was played for the first time since Irvine last May. Honorable mention goes to the appearance of “School Boy Heart” for the first time since Las Vegas last May and just the second time on the tour.

View the entire set list here.

The State has an article on the show, plus some photos and video:

• “Come on, man, it’s Buffett”
• Photos and Video: Jimmy Buffett in Columbia

Did you attend the show? Share your thoughts on our Discussion Board or post your photos in our Photo Gallery.

The 2010 Summerzcool Tour continues Thursday with a show in Orlando, FL. Between now and then, be sure to catch the Coral Reefers live from Margaritaville Orlando Wednesday night on Radio Margaritaville. Show time is 8:30 central, 9:30 eastern!

The crew of the space shuttle Endeavour awoke Tuesday afternoon to the sounds of Jimmy Buffett’s “Window On The World”. Mission Control sent up the music at 4:14 pm with the shuttle 220 miles up docked to the International Space Station.

Two American astronauts will venture outside the International Space Station today while crewmates inside the complex crank open for the first time shutters covering seven windows on the Italian-built Cupola observation deck.

“That song is very appropriate today,” said Endeavour mission specialist Kay Hire, who, like Buffett, is a native of Mobile, Ala. “On a day that we’ll be working on opening our new window on the world.”

This isn’t the first time Buffett’s music has served as an astronaut wake-up call. In 2006, the crew of Atlantis awoke to “Twelve Volt Man” and in 2008 it was “Oysters and Pearls” that was played to another Atlantis team.

Endeavour and its crew of six launched February 8th and are scheduled to return to earth on Sunday.

Update – You can listen to the recording of the song and astronaut Kay Hire’s reaction to it here (from NASA via @WAOTNC)

2009 was another big year for Jimmy Buffett. His summer tour was hugely successful again, he partnered with the Miami Dolphins to rename their home field Landshark Stadium, and a new album dropped in December. And of course there was lots more in between. So here’s our Jimmy Buffett 2009 Year in Review:

January

• In early January Jimmy made a swing through the Caribbean, making stops at his Margaritaville Cafes in Grand Cayman and Cozumel where he, Mac, and Nadirah played surprise shows
• Buffett attends Wounded Warriors Project’s Soldier Ride in Key West
• Spring and summer tour dates began to trickle out in mid-to-late January

February

• On February 2nd Margaritaville.com confirmed all shows for the Summerzcool Tour
• Also on February 2nd, Jimmy Buffett’s at the Beachcomber Restaurant opened in Honolulu
• Parrothead license plates become available for South Carolina residents
• On February 12th, Jimmy played a surprise show at the Margaritaville in Key West



• About 2 weeks later, Mailboat Records releases 4 digital downloads from the Key West show
• On Tuesday the 24th, Buffett and the Coral Reefers open the 2009 Summerzcool Tour in Maui
• On the 26th he plays a private show for the opening of Jimmy Buffett’s at the Beachcomber

March

• Jimmy performs at Netscape founder Jim Clark’s wedding in the British Virgin Islands



• In late March, we report that Margaritaville Rum is coming soon
• Also at the end of the month, Coral Reefer Mac McAnally releases a new single: “You First”

April

• Buffett sends out an April Fool’s joke on his Twitter account saying that the summer tour has been canceled
• On April 10th, Jimmy called in to Radio Margaritaville to discuss the tour and a new album in the works



• First rumblings surface about Jimmy entering into a partnership with the Miami Dolphins
• Spring tour kicks off in Atlanta on April 16th
• Buffett also plays Dallas, Charlotte, Raleigh, and Tampa in April
• A planned Today Show appearance by Jimmy in Key West in May is scrapped so that the NBC staff could stay in NYC to cover the Swine Flu outbreak

May

• It was announced on May 1st that Jimmy had entered into a agreement with the Miami Dolphins to rename their home field “Landshark Stadium”
• “Summerzcool” is released as a digital download



• The Fall tour dates are removed from Margaritaville.com, causing mass speculation and frustrating parrotheads on the West Coast
• On May 8th the Dolphins held a press conference in Miami announcing the stadium’s name change to Landshark Stadium. Jimmy performed at the event
• Tour resumed on May 14th in Phoenix. Jimmy also plays Las Vegas, Concord CA, and Irvina CA in May
• Additional Fall tour dates are announced in London, Paris, Orlando, and Charlottsville, VA. The San Diego, Seattle, and Las Vegas shows planned for the Fall are officially canceled

June

• Trump Entertainment Resorts terminates the agreement with Coastal Development to buy the Trump Marina and Casino and turn it into a Margaritaville-themed casino
• It’s announced that the first Canadian Margaritaville will open in Edmonton
• “Margaritaville” referenced on The Colbert Report
• On June 13th Jimmy performed at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Tennessee
• i-Encore, a parrothead iPhone app is released in mid-June
• Tour resumes on June 18th in Camden, NJ. Jimmy also plays in Pittsburgh and Boston
• In late June, former Coral Reefer Tim Krekel (pictured right) died after a short battle with cancer

July

• On July 1st, Jimmy Buffett and parrotheads are mentioned on an episode of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart”
• Jimmy performs in London on July 5th
• On July 9th, Jimmy rode along in the Lance Armstrong’s Team Astana car at the Tour de France
• It was reported that Jimmy Buffett serenaded Walter Cronkite in the weeks before his death
• In late July Coastal Development sues Trump over the Atlantic City casino deal



• On the 29th, Jimmy makes a surprise appearance at the Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett, New York
• Jimmy performs and is interviewed on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on July 29th

August

• Tour resumes in Cincinnati on the 6th. Jimmy also plays Chicago, Indy, Detroit, Atlantic City, Wantagh NY, and East Troy WI in the month of August

September

• On the 2nd, Politico reports that Jimmy Buffett was at the White House



• Jimmy speaks and performs at a memorial for Walter Cronkite in NYC on the 9th
• In mid-September the Orlando show scheduled for November 14th was removed from Margaritaville.com’s tour dates page with no explanation given
• Jimmy lends his boat to three combat veterans
• Prior to the Dolphins Monday Night Football game on the 21st, Jimmy performs outside of the stadium
• A new line of iced tea by Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville is announced
• On September 30th it was announced that Jimmy had joined the effort to restore Miami’s Marine Stadium, the venue for the Live By The Bay show from 1985.

October

• On October 16th the Margaritaville on Grand Cayman was robbed
• Jimmy plays for the National Association of Convenience Stores in Las Vegas



• Jimmy performs at Neil Young’s Bridge School Benefit in Mountain View, CA on October 24th

November

• We reported on the 3rd that “Margaritaville” had been trademarked for video game use
• On the 7th, Jimmy played a show on St. Barth’s for the 60th anniversary of Le Select
• The CMA Awards were held on the 11th and Coral Reefer Mac McAnally won Musician Of The Year for the second straight year
• Jimmy plays final shows of the Summerzcool Tour in Charlottsville VA, Toronto, Uncasville CT, and New York City
• On the morning of the 23rd, Jimmy appeared on the Today Show to discuss his upcoming album “Buffet Hotel”

December

• Jimmy’s new album “Buffet Hotel” is released. It’s Jimmy’s first studio album since “Take The Weather With You” in 2006
• On the 9th, Jimmy and the Zac Brown Band tape an episode of CMT Crossroads in Nashville
• We reported on the 13th that Buffett had acquired two new airplanes
• On the 17th, we reported that an aviation departure procedure out of Palm Beach International Airport in Florida had been named after Jimmy
• We report on the 18th that a job listing for a General Manager at a Margaritaville location in Nashville had been posted
• On Christmas Day, Jimmy celebrated his 63rd birthday