Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band will head to Australia on April 14th to perform at the Byron Bay Bluesfest.

Bluesfest is thrilled to be starting the New Year on a high by announcing the King of Margaritaville himself, Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefers will be performing exclusively in Australia at Bluesfest in 2017. Could there be a location more perfect for an artist famous for hits such as ‘Cheeseburger in Paradise’, ‘Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes’ and of course the classic Margaritaville. Bluesfest can’t wait for his fans to enjoy these hits plus many more just outside of idyllic Byron Bay.

Other acts slated to play Bluesfest include Santana, Patti Smith, the Doobie Brothers, The Lumineers, St Paul & the Broken Bones, and Mary J. Blige.

Get ticket information here.

Jimmy Buffett’s “Margaritaville” is not only known around the world as a song and a brand, it’s now being used in federal court!

A Virginia man who wants to open a tattoo parlor in Key West can thank Jimmy Buffett’s “Margaritaville” for helping him with his latest court case.

City officials twice referenced the song in opposition to Brad Buehrle’s proposal for a new tattoo shop, saying drunken tourists would be more likely to get tattoos and then regret it if more ink shops were open in Key West’s historic district.

But the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals said the city misunderstood the song lyrics in which the narrator reflects on a brand new tattoo – but how the “Mexican cutie” got there, “I haven’t a clue.”

The judges wrote in a footnote to their ruling that the character in the song deems his new tattoo “a real beauty” and seems far from embarrassed about it.

The appeals court ruled last week that the city failed to show that more tattoo shops would erode the historic district’s “character and fabric,” The Key West Citizen reported.

According to the ruling, the city feared that “rash tourists will obtain regrettable tattoos, leading to negative association with Key West.”

Tattoo parlors were banned within Key West city limits until 2007, when the city amended zoning rules to allow a limited number of them.

Currently, two tattoo shops operate there and “the city concedes the absence of any ill effect as a result” of them, according to the ruling.

Read the full article.

Jimmy Buffett’s upcoming musical “Escape to Margaritaville” will make additional stops this year on its way to Broadway in 2018.

The show will have its world premiere at La Jolla Playhouse in La Jolla, CA, in May 2017.

The current engagements are as follows:

May 9–June 25, world premiere
La Jolla Playhouse
Mandell Weiss Theatre
2910 La Jolla Village Drive
La Jolla, CA

October 20–28, pre-Broadway tour premiere
East Jefferson General Hospital Broadway in New Orleans
Saenger Theatre
1111 Canal Street
New Orleans, LA

October 31–November 5
BBVA Compass Broadway at the Hobby Center
800 Bagby Street
Houston, TX

November 9–December 3
Broadway In Chicago
Oriental Theatre
24 West Randolph
Chicago, IL

“It’s always been a dream of mine to make it to Broadway!” said Buffett in a statement. “After our world premiere this May in La Jolla, we’ll set sail from California on a pre-Broadway national tour stopping first in the city that gave me my start-New Orleans, then to some of my other favorites—Houston and Chicago—before arriving at that port of all ports, Broadway and New York City.”

As previously reported, Christopher Ashley, the Tony-nominated director behind Memphis and The Rocky Horror Show, will direct the new musical, which features an original story by co-book writers Greg Garcia (My Name is Earl) and Mike O’Malley (Survivor’s Remorse, Shameless).

Read more at Playbill.

Another year is nearly in the books and for parrotheads it saw another busy tour from Jimmy, multiple Margaritaville restaurant and resort openings, a new Christmas album, and a special birthday milestone. Relive 2016 with our annual Year in Review:

January

• Several tour dates had already been announced by mid-January with tickets going on sale later in the month
• In an email to the Miami Herald, Jimmy shared a remembrance of his good friend Glenn Frey, who died in January

February

• It was announced in early February that the Escape to Margaritaville musical will debut in San Diego in 2017
• Jimmy made a surprise appearance at The Ryman in Nashville, teaming up with Jenny Lewis on a cover of “Handle With Care”
• By mid-month, nearly every spring and summer show had been announced
• Jimmy went for a demo ride in the new Icon A5 amphibious airplane

March

• Jimmy and his wife Jane were spotted at the Vanity Fair Oscars after party
• President Obama made a trip to Cuba in March and Jimmy also went along where he attended a baseball game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cuban National team.

Jimmy Buffett talks with fans at US Cuba baseball game. @BBCNewsUS pic.twitter.com/GhNISUAcsJ

— Regan Morris (@reganmorris1) March 22, 2016

April

• Our annual April Fools Joke, that Jimmy endorsed Donald Trump for president, hooked many BuffettWorld visitors. Later in the year, Buffett campaigned for Hillary Clinton

• Jimmy played a private show at The Masters golf tournament
• After North Carolina passed the controversial “bathroom bill,” Jimmy released a statement where he referred to it as a “stupid law” but said he’d still play his two planned shows in the state
• Buffett played his first show of 2016 in Virginia Beach, VA. The show was considered a continuation of 2015’s Workin’ ‘N Playin’ Tour
• Jimmy also played shows in Birmingham, Raleigh, and Charlotte
• The governor of Mississippi signed into law a bill naming a stretch of Pascagoula beach after Jimmy

May

• Jimmy kicked off the 2016 I Don’t Know Tour in Austin, Texas with a performance at Austin City Limits Live
• Buffett implemented the “Door Number Three” contest where fans could vote on rare songs for Jimmy and the band to play each night
• Alan Jackson joined Jimmy on stage at his show in Nashville where they sang “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” together
• Shows were also played in Frisco, TX and Orange Beach, AL

June

• Jimmy played shows in Atlanta, Houston, Chicago, Detroit, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and a second Chicago show at the House of Blues
• “Margaritaville” is inducted into Grammy’s Hall of Fame 2016
• The Margaritaville Biloxi Resort opened

July

• Jimmy opened his first Margaritaville in Texas with a location in San Antonio
• Buffett attended the US premiere of the latest “Jason Bourne” film that his friend Frank Marshall produced
• At the end of the month, Jimmy performed on The Today Show as part of their summer concert series

August

• Jimmy caused a little bit of a stir in TV land when he said in an interview that Hawaii Five-O would be ending after the next season
• Buffett played on the beach in Atlantic City to as estimated 20,000 parrotheads
• Shows were also played at Boston’s House of Blues, Bangor, Mansfield MA, Pittsburgh, Wantagh NY, and Camden, NJ
• At the Wyndham Championship golf tournament, Jimmy played at the temporary Margaritaville bar
• The Margaritaville Casino in Tulsa opened its doors
• Jimmy performed with Bon Jovi and Paul McCartney at a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton in the Hamptons

September

• The St Louis Cardinals hosted a Jimmy Buffett Night at Busch Stadium
• A Margaritaville restaurant opens in the Mall of America in Minneapolis
• Buffett played shows in Omaha, East Troy WI, and two gigs in Paris

October

• Jimmy released “Tis The SeaSon,” his second holiday album, at the end of October
• Buffett played shows at Red Rocks in Denver, Las Vegas, San Diego, Sacramento, and Irvine CA
• After some west coast shows in October, Jimmy flew his jet north to Alaska and then on to Japan where he played a couple shows for service members stationed there

Surfing Okinawa!? That was cool

A photo posted by Jimmy Buffett (@jimmybuffett) on Oct 27, 2016 at 8:25pm PDT

November

• On his way back from Japan, Buffett filmed some Hawaii Five-O scenes, reprising his role as helicopter pilot Frank Bama
• Buffett performed at a Get Out The Vote Rally featuring vice president Joe Biden in St Petersburg, Florida the day before the election

December

• Jimmy performed music from his new holiday album “Tis The SeaSon” on The Today Show
• Buffett joined James Taylor and Sarah MacLachlan for a show in Brooklyn
• On Christmas Day, Jimmy turned 70 years old

We hope you had a wonderful 2016! Thanks for visiting BuffettWorld and we’ll see you in the new year!

It’s been seventy trips around the sun for Jimmy Buffett!

Born December 25th, 1946 to James Delaney Buffett and Mary Loraine, Jimmy shares his birthday with Humphrey Bogart, Sir Isaac Newton, Barbara Mandrell, Sissy Spacek, Annie Lennox, Justin Trudeau, Karl Rove, and Jesus of Nazareth.

Happy birthday Jimmy and Merry Christmas to all of you!

We’ll post a 2016 Buffett Year in Review soon!