After suffering a nasty fall on Wednesday night in Sydney, Jimmy Buffett has cancelled his show at the Auckland Viaduct on Te Wero Island this Saturday night:

Jimmy spent the night in hospital and has since been discharged. He was scheduled to perform at the Auckland Viaduct on Te Wero Island this Saturday night but unfortunately, he will be cancelling the New Zealand show to allow himself time to recover from his injuries.

Jimmy would like to thank all of his fans for their support, and wants them all to know that he will return.

All tickets purchased from eventfinder.co.nz will be automatically refunded to the credit card used for the purchase in full on Friday 28th January 2011. Eventfinder asks that patrons please allow up to 3 days for this to appear on their credit card statement. Patrons with an enquiry regarding their refund can contact support@eventfinder.co.nz.

(hat tip Melissa)

We’re finally back. Sorry for the down time all day Wednesday. Our server was unable to handle the high traffic.

Jimmy Buffett was released from St. Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney today. Margaritaville sent this update at 6:30 ET:

“Jimmy has been released from the hospital and is doing well. Fins up”

The Today Show’s Richard Wilkins reported that Jimmy suffered a minor concussion with no trauma and required stitches on his elbow. He also said that he’s resting out of the hospital and in good spirits.

A forum member posted this about Jimmy’s good fortune:

When Jimmy fell he landed at the feet of one of Australia’s best trauma medicine specialists, Dr Gordian Fulde who is the Director of Emergency Medicine at St Vincents Hospital, just near the venue.

The good Dr travelled in the ambulance with Jimmy to the hospital where Dr Fulde oversaw the treatment.

ABC News has more from Dr. Fulde:

“I thought he’d broken his neck,” Sydney surgeon Gordian Fulde, who happened to be in the audience and treated Buffet at the scene, told 702 ABC Sydney.

“I heard the clunk of his head on a metal ledge, he has a deep gash on his scalp, which is all right now.

“But at first I thought – this guy is going to be a spinal injury.”

Buffett fell face-first as he reached out to a fan in the front row.

He misjudged how close he was to the edge of the stage because there were lights in his eyes, Dr Fulde said.

Buffett was knocked unconscious and left bleeding from a deep head wound.

Earlier in the day Eventfinder reported on their website that the show in Auckland, New Zealand on Saturday was still on, but that post has now been removed from their site. So it’s unclear whether that show will be played.

We’ll post more info when it becomes available.

Jimmy’s people have posted a message on Facebook and Twitter:

As you probably already know, Jimmy had an accident while performing in Sydney last night and was taken to the hospital. The doctors say he is doing well and will be released tomorrow. More info as we get it, and thank you for all of your well-wishes!

Earlier reports that Jimmy had already been released already were erroneous.

If you haven’t already seen it, view the fall here.

Update – Here’s another view of the fall:

As Jimmy Buffett was wrapping up an encore with “Lovely Cruise” in Sydney, Australia, he tumbled off the stage injuring himself. According to TMZ, Buffett is in stable condition and will remain in the hospital for observation.

Audience member Dan Bateman, 30, told The Daily Telegraph Buffett fell face first off the stage.

“We were in the 10th row and it looked like he did a massive face plant after his encore and pretty much didn’t get up,” Mr Bateman, from Cairns, said.

Another tells TMZ more:

An audience member in the front row tells TMZ it appeared Buffett was unconscious for about 5-10 minutes and that he had a huge gash on his head. Paramedics arrived 15 minutes later.

Sean Fogarty, who was also front and center, tells TMZ Jimmy was doing his solo at the end of the concert, walking along the edge of the stage when the lighting person splashed “a huge flash of light” along the stage, making it impossible to see and he fell. Fogarty says the next thing he knew he heard Buffett’s head strike the metal on his way to the floor.

Another audience member who was close to the stage, tells TMZ a slightly different story …. that it looked as if Buffett was about to jump off the stage to shake hands when he misjudged the jump and fell. The audience member also says he saw Buffett’s head strike a metal strip on his way down.

The light flash lasted 10 seconds and no one even knew Buffett had fallen until the flashing ceased.

We’ll update the story as more info becomes available.

The Daily Telegraph has a good writeup on Jimmy Buffett’s first Australia show in Sydney on Sunday night:

NEVER before have so many middle-aged men in loud shirts and shorts descended on Sydney’s Opera House.

But then it has been 24 years since Jimmy Buffett last performed in Australia along with his Coral Reefer band, for an adoring legion of fans fondly known as Parrotheads.

This was a crowd like no other I’ve experienced – more mega beach party than rock’n’roll show. A mate of mine who once worked for some of the most senior Liberal MPs in Canberra had flown down from Brisbane, escaping Queensland’s recent misery so that he could party hard and soak up Buffett-mania – replete with ridiculous headwear and Hawaiian shirt.

Read the full article here.

[photo Jeff Christensen / AP]