Jimmy Buffett was in Orlando on Friday night to help Democratic incumbent senator Bill Nelson kick off a statewide campaign tour.

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson kicked off a cross-state tour Friday with singer Jimmy Buffett at his side, starting an itinerary that will take him to at least 19 stops in the last weeks of a hard-fought campaign against Republican U.S. Rep. Connie Mack.

About 100 supporters swayed and snapped cell phone photos of Buffett as he sang acoustical versions of “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” and “Margaritaville” in a hangar at the Orlando-Sanford International Airport. Nelson and his wife, Grace, danced alongside him.

“Go support Bill Nelson and the Democrats because guess what? Florida matters,” said Buffett, who was dressed in shorts, flip flops and sunglasses.

Nelson said the tour underscored his commitment to visit as many places in Florida as he can, even Republican bastions like the retirement community, The Villages, northwest of Orlando

AP photo John Raoux

Jimmy Buffett will help US Senator Bill Nelson kick off a statewide campaign tour on Friday:

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson will kick off a statewide campaign tour Friday with a brief show in Sanford featuring an acoustic performance by Jimmy Buffett.

The Buffett stop will be at 3:45 at Avion Jet Center at Orlando-Sanford International Airport, 2841 Flightline Ave. Sanford.

The Nelson campaign will be providing details on the other stops on the tour later.

The event will be the kickoff of a two-week, 19-stop tour that will include senior centers, college campuses and local small businesses in towns, cities and communities from the Panhandle to South Florida.

Nelson faces Republican challenger U.S. Rep. Connie Mack IV.

Buffett will also play a fundraiser for President Barack Obama at 5 pm.

Nominations were announced Wednesday morning for the American Country Awards and Jimmy Buffett and the Zac Brown Band earned a nod for “Knee Deep.”

Single of the Year: Vocal Collaboration

• Kix Brooks featuring Joe Walsh, “New To This Town”
• Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw, “Feel Like A Rock Star”
• Brad Paisley featuring Carrie Underwood, “Remind Me”
• Rascal Flatts featuring Natasha Bedingfield, “Easy”
• Zac Brown Band featuring Jimmy Buffett, “Knee Deep”

The third annual American Country Awards will air live from Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas Monday, Dec. 10 (8:00-10:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed) on FOX. Luke Bryan leads the American Country Awards nominees with seven nominations; Lady Antebellum and Zac Brown Band each earned six nods; and Eric Church and Taylor Swift garnered five nominations.

Starting today, fans can vote once each day for their favorite American Country Awards nominees at www.theacas.com. Voting is open until Monday, Nov. 12 for all categories, except for Artist of the Year, which closes on Friday, Dec. 7. The nominees for each award category have been determined by four media measurement companies: BigChampagne (record sales and media consumption); Great American Country (video airplay); Mediabase (radio airplay); Pollstar (touring data); and Nashville Songwriters Association International.

Jimmy Buffett is among several nominees for the 2013 Songwriters Hall of Fame:

Elvis Costello, B.B. King and Ray Davies are among the nominees for the 2013 Songwriters Hall of Fame.

They’re joined by a slew of top acts, including Jimmy Buffett, Vince Gill, Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, and Christine McVie. Also nominated are Mick Jones and Lou Gramm of Foreigner, Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart, Jeff Lynne, Aeromsith’s Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, as well as Steve Winwood and Bobby Womack.

Songwriters Hall gave The Associated Press a list of nominees in advance of the official announcement, set for Oct. 16.

Voting ends Dec. 17, and the gala takes place June 13 in New York City.

Jimmy Buffett will perform a show in San Francisco in a couple weeks benefiting Singing for Change:

On Thursday, October 18th, Jimmy & the Coral Reefer Band will be performing a very special intimate concert at The Fillmore in San Francisco, CA to benefit Singing for Change. The concert starts at 8pm (doors at 6pm), and tickets go on sale Monday, October 8th at 10am at Ticketmaster.

Please note:
There is a two ticket limit per customer, and this is a Will Call only event. Each customer will need to bring their government-issued photo ID and credit card used to purchase the tickets to the box office window on the day of the concert to redeem the tickets. Once the ticket order is redeemed the customer must directly enter The Fillmore.

All will call tickets must be picked up by the card holder. Alternate names for Will Call will not be permitted. Ticketmaster at its discretion will cancel any and all orders with out notice that exceed the ticket limit. This includes duplicate orders having the same name, bill address or credit card.