Another year has come and gone, and we look back at some of the highlights from 2008:

January

• Jimmy’s sister Lucy “Lulu” releases cookbook: “Crazy Sista Cooking”



• Jimmy plays a charity benefit show in Hong Kong
• In addition to Hong Kong show, Jimmy performs private show in Singapore and performs for troops aboard the USS Harry Truman (right)

February

• February 4th was the 7 year anniversary of Jimmy getting ejected from Miami Heat game
• The crew of the space shuttle Atlantis prepares for spacewalk by listening to Buffett’s “Oysters and Pearls”
• It’s reported that a Michigan company would begin making chips and salsa for Jimmy’s Margaritaville Foods
• In mid-February the annual trickle of tour dates begin to leak out, followed by the official tour announcements by the end of the month
• Harrison Ford reveals in an interview with Barbara Walters that he got his ear pierced after a lunchtime birthday celebration with Jimmy and the late Ed Bradley
• It’s announced that Buffett would build a new restaurant in Waikiki, Hawaii called “Jimmy Buffett’s At The Beachcomber”

March

• Panama City Margaritaville opens on March 5th
• On March 12th, Comedy Central’s “South Park” lampooned Jimmy Buffett (right)
• March 17th marked the 30 year anniversary of the release of “Son Of A Son Of A Sailor”

April

• Jimmy and Mac performed April 9th at the Glendale, AZ Margaritaville
• On April 13th, Jimmy and Jane Buffett pledged $50,000 at Comedy Central’s “Night Of Too Many Stars Autism Benefit”
• 2008 tour kicks off April 21st in Houston
• Buffett plays St. Louis for the first time in 8 years
• Other tour stops this month were Frisco, TX and Charlotte, NC

May

• Freddie & The Fishsticks play benefit show at New Orleans Margaritaville on May 1st



• Buffett plays New Orleans Jazz Fest on May 3rd
• Jimmy’s latest novel, “Swine Not?” is released May 13th
• Publicity rounds for new book include the Today Show, Regis & Kelly, and David Letterman
• It’s reported May 29th that the Trump Casino in Atlantic City will be turned into a Margaritaville Casino

June

• “Scenes You Know By Heart” DVD released exclusively through Walmart on June 3rd
• Second leg of tour resumes in Atlanta on June 5th
• Buffett also plays Raleigh, Detroit, New York City, and Philadelphia in the month of June

July

• Tour resumes in Cincinnati on July 17th
• Buffett also plays East Troy, Pittsburgh, Chicago twice, and Indianapolis in the month of July
• It’s reported that because of the credit crunch, work was slowing on the Margaritaville Casino in Biloxi

August

• Jimmy performs at the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island on August 3rd
• Tour resumes August 24th in Atlantic City
• Buffett also plays Wantagh, NY and the first of two shows in Bristow, VA in August

September

• Second show in Bristow, VA on September 1st
• Other tour stops in September include two shows in Mansfield, MA
• September 6th Mansfield show time moved up to 3 pm because of the approaching Hurricane Hanna
• Buffett performs two shows in Paris, marking the second year in a row he’s played Paris
• Mohegan Sun Margaritaville opens on September 29th
• BuffettWorld debuts the Buffett Caption Contest

October

• New monthly column debuts on BuffettWorld: “From Under My Lone Palm”, written by Justin
• Coral Reefer Nadirah Shakoor releases album on October 14th: “Nod To The Storyteller”
• West coast tour includes stops in San Diego, San Francisco, and two shows in Las Vegas
• On October 23rd, Jimmy visited Google Headquarters where he spoke and performed

November

• Jimmy’s dear friend and legendary Key West figure Captain Tony Tarracino died on November 1st



• Jimmy performs November 2nd at a Barack Obama rally in Tampa, Florida (right)
• On the 8th, Jimmy performed a private show at the Mohegan Sun Margaritaville Cafe
• Radio Margaritaville becomes available to XM subscribers as the result of the Sirius XM merger
• Coral Reefer Mac McAnally won CMA Musician of the Year at CMA Awards on November 12th
• Jimmy attends University of Florida football game on the 15th where he was invited into the locker room by coach Urban Meyer

December

• Jimmy Buffett turns 62 years old on Christmas Day

And that’s a quick review of 2008!

It was another great year at BuffettWorld and we’d like to thank all of you who visit BuffettWorld, subscribe to the daily email updates, and who are members of our forum.

Thank you and we look forward to providing you the best and most Jimmy Buffett news and information on the web again in 2009!

XM Satellite Radio announced a revamped lineup today after merging recently with Sirius, and one of the Sirius channels that is now available on XM is Jimmy Buffett’s Radio Margaritaville! Starting today, XM subscribers can hear Radio Margaritaville on channel 55. Sirius subscribers can still hear RM on channel 31.

View the new channel lineup for XM here.

Radio Margaritaville joined Sirius in 2005 after several years of being offered solely online. It features music by Jimmy Buffett, James Taylor, Little Feat, Bob Marley, Bonnie Raitt, Van Morrison, The Beach Boys, Harry Belafonte, The Eagles and many more.

Get XM or Sirius today!

Radio Margaritaville on Sirius Satellite Radio is giving away a trip to Las Vegas to see Jimmy Buffett in October:

Hey all you Parrotheads out there! If you haven’t checked out a Jimmy Buffett concert yet or you’re aching to go to another one, what better place is there than Las Vegas to party Margaritaville style? By entering now, you could win a trip for two to see Jimmy Buffett LIVE in concert in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on October 25, 2008, and backstage passes for Radio Margaritaville’s Live Pre-Concert Tailgate Party! That’s not all — the lucky winner will also receive an autographed guitar and a Sportster 5 satellite radio with vehicle kit and 3-month subscription to SIRIUS. Entrants must be at least 21 years old and a legal resident of the contiguous USA and D.C. to enter. For more details and how to enter see the Official Rules.

Click here to enter!

(hat tip to Brea of Sirius XM Radio for passing this along)

The 2008 Year Of Still Here Tour continued Thursday night as Jimmy moved the tour into Chicago for his annual visit.

This year, Jimmy’s Chicago stop was in Toyota Park for the first time ever and the first of two shows. The opening show featured a change right away as a solo version of “Hey Good Lookin'” started things off. It was the first ever acoustic version and the first time the song had been played in any form since June 30th of last year in Atlantic City. Other changes saw no “Pencil Thin Mustache” for the first time since the opening show in Houston and the return of “Jamaica Mistaica” for the first time since September 20th of last year in New York City.

The second set didn’t include any surprises, but it did feature a few guests. The Juke Joint Duo and Greg “Fingers” Taylor were back again to put some blues in the show and they even got Jimmy involved again as he helped out on a fantastic version of “Sweet Home Chicago.” Fingers also stuck around for “Son of a Son of a Sailor” and of course “A Pirate Looks at Forty.”

The First Encore opened the same way with “Fins” featuring another hot Fingers solo but this time Jimmy opted for “We Are the People Our Parents Warned us About” instead of “Rainy Day Women #12 and 35.” This was the first performance of “We are the People” since January at the Hong Kong show. The second encore was not a complete surprise this time but was still very nice as Jimmy played the John Prine classic “It’s a Big Old Goofy World” for just the second time ever. No Steve Goodman songs this time which makes you wonder what where in for Saturday Night.

View the entire set list here.

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

Update – There are two reviews of last night’s show:

Chicago Tribune – “Buffett moves smoothly into Toyota Park”
Southtown Star – “Buffett fans sip margaritas and chill out at Toyota Park “

The third leg of the 2008 “Year of Still Here” will continue Saturday night with another show in Bridgeview, IL just outside of Chicago. There’s still plenty of time to Get your tickets!

The 2008 Year Of Still Here Tour continued Tuesday night as Jimmy moved the tour into Pittsburgh for his annual visit.

Back at Star Lake yet again, the first set saw no surprises. It did however feature a few changes as “Boat Drinks” opened with Jimmy solo while “License to Chill” replaced “The Tiki Bar is Open” in the second spot and “Cowboy in the Jungle” moved up to the sixth spot replacing “Miss You So Badly.” Also back was the Jimmy and Sonny Landreth duet “USS Zydecoldsmobile,” sneaking in at twelve just before the intermission.

The second set didn’t include any surprises either, but it did feature a different order. “Coconut Telegraph” kicked the second half off, just it’s second appearance this tour. Other highlights from the second half include “Take Another Road” making just it’s second appearance since 2001 and “Miss You So Badly” making it’s tour debut for the second half of the set.

The First Encore was the same as most of the tour with “Fins” and “Rainy Day Women #12 and 35” staying put. The second encore was again a surprise, as Jimmy acknowledged the fact that he had been playing rare songs to close the show, then followed that with the ultra-rare “Death of An Unpopular Poet,” last played at Jerry Jeff Walker’s Birthday Bash on March 23, 2002. This was just the fifth known performance of the song.

View the entire set list here.

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

Update: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has a review of the show: “Concert Review: Buffett takes his Parrotheads to the beach”

The third leg of the 2008 “Year of Still Here” will continue Thursday night with the first of two shows in Bridgeview, IL just outside of Chicago. There’s still plenty of time to Get your tickets!