Margaritaville is coming to the Windy City. Jimmy Buffett will open a Margaritaville Cafe at the famed Navy Pier in downtown Chicago after beating out 10 other bidders:

The Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, which owns and operates the pier, approved the lease Wednesday morning.

“So, we’ll have the Caribbean in February on Navy Pier,” said David Mosena, board chairman. The authority is hoping the restaurant and entertainment venue will serve as an attendance magnet year-round.

Buffett, in a prepared statement, expressed his excitement for the new venue, targeted to open next spring.

“From my earliest days in the city, playing the Quiet Knight on Belmont, to the pinnacle of live performances to me, singing in front of the ivy wall at Wrigley Field, I have had a long and wonderful history and affection for the people, the music, the art and the food of the Windy City. I have always thought of Chicago as a beach town, a pretty big one, but still a beach town.”

Terms of the deal were not immediately available.

Read more about Jimmy’s Margaritaville Cafe empire here.

Update – The restaurant is expected to open next Spring in the space currently occupied by Charlie’s Ale House.

The circus came to town again Tuesday night as Jimmy and the Reefers moved the Under The Big Top Tour to the Rose Garden Arena in Portland, OR.

Notable additions to the set list this time included the medley of “Cowboy in the Jungle” and “Banana Republics,” last played in 2007, played solo acoustic by Jimmy. “He Went to Paris” was tonight’s final encore.

View the entire set list here.

Did you attend the show? Share your thoughts on our Discussion Board.

The fifth and final leg of the Under The Big Top Tour will continue Thursday with a show in Irvine, CA. You can still get your tickets now for any shows left!

Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band continue their West Coast tour leg tonight with a show at the Rose Garden Arena in Portland, Oregon.

You can listen to the show live on Radio Margaritaville on the web at www.radiomargaritaville.com or on Sirius 31 / XM 55. The pre-show will start around 7:30 pm PT with Jimmy taking the stage shortly after 8 PT (11 ET).

After tonight there are only two more shows: Irvine, CA on Thursday and Las Vegas on Saturday. Find tickets.

The circus came to town again Saturday night as Jimmy and the Reefers moved the Under The Big Top Tour to the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, CA.

Notable additions to the set list this time included “Mañana,” last played November 19th, 2009, played solo acoustic by Jimmy. “Stories We Could Tell” was tonight’s final encore, last played April 26th, 2008 in Frisco, TX.

View the entire set list here.

Did you attend the show? Share your thoughts on our Discussion Board.

The fifth and final leg of the Under The Big Top Tour will continue Tuesday with the first show in Portland, OR since 2005. You can still get your tickets now for any shows left!

Coral Reefer Mac McAnally is very humbled by his CMA Musician of the Year nomination, an award he’s won the last two years. The Times Daily has an interview with Mac:

“I know we’ve had this conversation before, but I was flattered and felt unworthy to be nominated the first time and now I’ve won two,” McAnally said Friday during a telephone interview from San Francisco where he was preparing for a show with Jimmy Buffett.

The CMA Musician of the Year Award is given to studio musicians in recognition of their work in the past year, particularly with chart-topping songs.

McAnally speculated 2009’s win was the result of his studio work with Kenny Chesney on “Down the Road,” a song McAnally wrote more than 20 years ago. The previous year, he said it was likely because of his work with Buffett and George Strait.

“Once again, I’m awfully grateful to be thought about in any positive light by my peers,” McAnally said.

He normally is busy as a producer, performer and studio musician, but back-to-back CMA awards brought him telephone calls from artists he has not heard from previously.

“Playing music is my favorite thing to do,” he said. “It’s certainly not a bad thing to get called to do some more.”

He said this year’s nomination probably is linked to several things he did during the past year, including co-producing “Buffett Hotel” and work with George Strait as well as up-and-coming country artist and Alabama native Jamey Johnson.

“I’m not without a lot of work in the pile,” McAnally said.