Jimmy Buffett was in St. Thomas on Friday to unveil plans for the first Margaritaville Vacation Club.

Buffett is partnering with Wyndham to open the 262-unit resort, located at the former Renaissance Grand Beach Resort in Smith Bay on St. Thomas.

The hotel property has been abandoned for years, and Wyndham plans to invest $90 million to transform it into the flagship Margaritaville Vacation Club by Wyndham property.

Friday’s reception took place at Penga, the Point Pleasant Resort restaurant that overlooks the site of the new Margaritaville resort.

Kicking off his flip-flops, Buffett picked up his guitar and sang three songs – “Boat Drinks,” which he said was inspired by a trip to St. Thomas; “Volcano”; and, of course, “Margaritaville” – to the small crowd as the sun began to set over Water Bay.

Buffett came to St. Thomas on his first sailboat in 1972, a boat he bought with the money he made from his first album. He lived on his boat at the old Sheraton Marina off and on for about a year, playing gigs in the area and making friends.

When the opportunity to bring his Margaritaville brand to the Virgin Islands arose, Buffet said, he jumped at the chance, seeing it as a perfect fit.

Buffett said the brand is about a lifestyle, and a way to connect with his fans – also known as “parrot heads.”

“We sell escapism,” he said. “They’ve been escaping through our music for so long, this is a real place on the beach, Margaritaville. It’s about appealing to the people who’ve been fans for so long.”

Buffett said he plans to buy the first four timeshare units at the resort so his musicians and crew can rotate through. Music will be a big part of the resort, with live acts playing regularly – maybe even Buffett himself.

Buffett currently lives on St. Barths and pilots his own seaplane, which he said would be very easy to land in Water Bay.

“You never know when I’m going to show up,” Buffett said, referring to the future resort.

Construction on the resort will begin in July. The first phase – which includes the main administration buildings, restaurant, common areas and the units by the pool – will take about 18 months to complete.

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New Margaritaville properties are sprouting up everywhere! Two weeks ago came the announcement of a Margaritaville resort in St. Thomas. The day before that, a Margaritaville restaurant opened in Cincinnati. Another restaurant looks to be in the works in the Pigeon Forge area, and now a Margaritaville Casino and restaurant in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Officials with the River Spirit Casino in Tulsa announced plans to build a 500-room hotel tower Monday, which they claim would bring Tulsa around 800 new permanent jobs and its construction nearly 2,000 more.

The casino’s expansion will feature a 22-story Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville Casino and Restaurant, complete with its own spa, convention and meeting center and a handful of restaurants.

The facility will also hold some 750 electronic gaming devices and 20 table games within its projected 45,000 square feet of new gaming space, according to the casino.

Officials say the groundbreaking will begin in the fall, with plans to open the $250 million-facility by early 2015.

A press conference will be held at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at the River Spirit Event Center to officially announce the project.

Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band are returning to Comerica Park in Detroit on Saturday, July 20th, along with show opener Jackson Browne.

Last July marked Michigan’s largest single-night Buffett concert in history with a sold out crowd at Comerica Park.

Once again, Jimmy Buffett fans will be invited to soak-in the full Margaritaville experience with the return of the FREE downtown beach party for all to enjoy. Starting at noon, the day-long festivities will be located at the corner of Woodward and Montcalm on the north side of Comerica Park and feature a LandShark Lounge, a variety of island-inspired interactive games, tiki bars with frozen concoctions, liv entertainment and much, much more.

“Jimmy Buffett’s return to Comerica Park is an absolute highlight for Detroit’s summer concert roster,” said Tom Wilson, president and chief executive officer of Olympia Entertainment. “We’re ecstatic to welcome back Jimmy for another incredible evening under the open-air stadium stars along with Jackson Browne and to again transform downtown into the ultimate day-long paradise celebration for Detroit’s devoted Parrotheads.”

Tickets go on sale at Tickets.com on Saturday, March 23 at 10 a.m. and can also be purchased at the Comerica Park Box Office. To charge tickets by phone, call 866-66-TIGER. For additional information, call Olympia Entertainment at (313) 471-6611.

Jimmy Buffett and Mishka sat down together in Hawaii to discuss ‘Ocean Is My Potion’ the new EP from Mishka.

The two actually met long ago, when Mishka was only 5 years old. The little tike was selling croissants in the French West Indies when he came upon the Margaritaville man himself. The acoustic-leaning songwriter even wrote a song about Mishka called “Chanson Pour Les Petis Enfants.”

Now the musicians’ relationship has come full circle on Mishka’s new EP Ocean Is My Potion. The title track features Buffett and the Bermuda-born singer’s velvety vocals.

Now you can check out an exclusive conversation between the up-and-coming reggae artist and his musical mentor in the video below. The pair discuss how they met, and even play their new single! Check out the video below, and grab Mishka’s new record in stores now.

The Margarillas posted a message on Facebook Monday night that Jimmy had just returned from Hawaii where he was filming his second guest spot on the CBS show Hawaii Five-0.

“JB is back on the mainland after kicking some ass as Frank Bama on the set of Hawaii Five-0. Glad our boss is having some fun before we start gearing up for Songs From St. Somewhere 2013!”

More on Buffett’s appearance from Access Hollywood:

“[Terry’s] in episode 320,” Executive Producer Peter Lenkov told AccessHollywood.com recently, during a chat to promote last night’s viewer-voted episode. “So it’s not that far off and what’s interesting is Jimmy Buffett’s going to be in that episode also.”

The upcoming episode (the cast is currently filming 316) should be a treat for fans – not only because of the return of the Parrothead leader as the hippie, black ops helicopter pilot Frank, but because it returns to the initial drama that the show kicked off with when it first launched on CBS in 2010.

“It’s this prequel episode to the pilot, so you’re gonna see Terry as McGarrett’s commanding officer in the SEALS, having sent them on… the mission that McGarrett (Alex O’Loughlin) was on when we saw him at the beginning,” Lenkov said. “That’s the mission that Terry sent him on to get Hesse in North Korea, so we’re sort of telling a lot of mythology, a lot of backstory.”

Hesse killed McGarrett’s dad, and Lenkov hinted that the SEAL’s late father could be around.

“Yes, but not in a conventional way,” he said. “There’s definitely going to be a mention of his dad. But it’s really about… the 16 hours that lead up to the pilot and flashbacks to his days as a SEAL, with Terry being his CO (commanding officer).”

Jimmy, however, won’t be in flashbacks.

“He’s gonna be a part of sort of the present day story,” Lenkov said.

Buffett’s first appearance on Hawaii Five-0 aired November 21, 2011.