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!

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.

The 2008 Year Of Still Here Tour came to an end Saturday night with the second of two shows from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The set list was largely unchanged from other recent shows, but Buffett did debut a cover of Tom Petty’s “Wildflowers.” It was the first known time that Jimmy has performed this song live.

View the entire set list here.

Did you attend the show? Post your comments on our forum.

Jimmy will play a special show for the opening of the newest Margaritaville Cafe at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, CT on November 8th. Ticket information here.

There are also a few rumors swirling around out there about possible shows in February in Hawaii and Tahiti. The latter is typically mentioned every year and never comes to fruition.

The 2008 Year Of Still Here Tour continued Tuesday night with a show from the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, California… a suburb of San Francisco.

The set list was largely unchanged, though the rarely-played “Coast of Marseilles” finished out the show as the final encore.

You can view the full set list here.

Did you attend the show? Share your comments on our Forum.

The final stop of the Year Of Still Here Tour is Saturday with the second of two shows at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

You can still get tickets for the final show by going to TicketMaster or Stubhub!

Update – The Mercury News has a review of the show here.

Jimmy Buffett’s West Coast tour swing kicks off Thursday night at the Cricket Wireless Amphitheater in Chula Vista, California. It’s the first of four shows on the left coast.

You can listen to the show live on Radio Margaritaville on the web or on Sirius 31 (Get Sirius Now!). The pre-show will begin at 10:30 pm ET, and Jimmy will take the stage shortly after 11:00 ET.

Also you can follow along with the set list and chat with other parrotheads during the show on our forum.

Tickets are still available for the remaining shows. Get them now on Ticketmaster or Stubhub!