It looks like Jimmy Buffett’s charity concert in Gulf Shores, AL was so successful the the state received $2 million from BP to help raise money/awareness about the oil spill in the gulf. Gulf Shores officials have made offers to three family-friendly acts for a late August free concert. Buffett’s free charity concert helped raise a lot of money for relief and brought thousands of tourists to economically damaged Gulf Shores area. BP has pledged $15 million to helping the area boost tourism. A full-length documentary is coming out about Jimmy’s favorite musher, Newton Marshall, who became the first Jamaican to complete the Iditarod. The hour-long doc is expected out this winter. Be sure to check out www.margaritaville.com for a load of new videos of Jimmy performing at the Gulf Shores charity concert.

Jimmy Buffett’s Gulf Shores Benefit was labeled a great success after some minor rescheduling delayed the charity show a few weeks. Jimmy with his band of Coral Reefers put on a terrific live show featuring famed songwriter Jesse Winchester and New Orleans music legend Allen Toussaint. The concert was broadcast across the United States on CMT to spread awareness about the Gulf region’s plight Over 35,000 fans turned up for the free concert on Sunday night, which provided Gulf Shores, AL a much needed influx our weekend tourism. BP gave the state of Alabama $15 million in promotional money, and it is expected that we may see more free concerts to attract visitors. Jimmy ran through usual staple of big hits for the massive audience, but it was his tearful performance of “When the Coast is Clear” that brought down the house. Check out the video here.

There is plenty of things happening in Margaritville this week with the opening of the brand new Margaritaville Beach Hotel. I’m sure there will be a nice group of Parrotheads spending their Fourth of July at the newly built resort in Pensacola, Florida. Wish I was sipping on something at the hotel’s Land Shark Bar right now. Unfortunately, Jimmy Buffett’s Gulf Coast Charity show featuring Zac Brown and Kenny Chesney due to Hurricane Alex. The show will now take place on July 11th and will still be broadcast on CMT. Jimmy apologized for the rescheduling quipping, “It’s hard to reason with Hurricane season”. Bubba did perform for some fans at his sister’s restaurant Lulu’s Sunset Grill with a surprise performance. Reports indicate that about 100 or so fans showed up for the free show.

Jimmy Buffett (with the help of his friends the Zac Brown Band, Kenny Chesney, and Allen Toussaint) has announced that he will play a free concert to benefit the gulf coast oil spill. Jimmy has been monitoring the situation on the coast closely in recent weeks, meeting with politicians, inspecting the coastline, and urging people to not shy away from visiting the region on vacation this summer. The beach-side free concert will take place in Gulf Shores, Alabama on July 1st. CMT will broadcast the show live at 8:00 PM ET for fans viewing pleasure. There should be a lot more details coming forth soon about the benefit concert, but I for one am really excited for the show. Fans will be able to make donations to aid the Gulf Coast while watching their favorite singers perform live.

Jimmy Buffett didn’t plan on opening his new Margaritaville Beach Hotel (estimated cost at $50 million) in Pensacola Beach, Florida with oil washing up on the shores, but the musician/buisnessman still plans to open this summer. The state of Florida is demanding BP pay millions to recoup the huge sum of money the gulf region will lose in the coming months and years due to the terrible spill. Their are plans in place add a water park and Margaritaville restaurant to the resort in the future, but the luxury hotel as is includes 25 deluxe suites and Buffett-approved beach bar. The hotel site isn’t a stranger to diaster. Prior to Margaritaville, a hotel was demolished on that site by Hurricane Ivan in 2004. Buffett walked the coastline with Governor Charlie Crist and told reporters he lamented the enviromental diaster, but urged people to still come down to Gulf Coast to vacation.  

It’s not too late to get your Jimmy Buffett tickets for the Under the Big Top Tour! Bubba is playing four dates in June with two dates at the Comcast Center outside Boston, outside of Detroit at the DTE Energy Music Theatre, and in East Troy, WI at Alpine Valley Music Theatre. Jimmy will take a well deserved break from touring in July before playing shows in New Jersey, New York, Illinois, and Pennsylvania in August. The head Parrothead will continue touring into October concluding with a big ole show at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, NV. If you can’t make it to any of his schedules shows tune in to Radio Margaritaville on Sirius Radio or at Margaritaville.com to listen to live streams of all Jimmy’s shows. You can even hear the Jimmy and the Coral Reefers rehearse before shows, though nothing can truly capture the excitement of being at a live Jimmy Buffett show then being there in the flesh! 

For me the highlight of the Jimmy Buffett-Zac Brown Band Crossroads had to be their medley of ZBB’s “Free” with Van Morrison’s classic “Into the Mystic”. Sometimes when musicians dabble in medleys it comes off as forced, but the two songs seemed to mesh perfectly together. Zac really showed off his powerful vocals in the performance, while Jimmy chimed in on a verse or two. The ZBB band and Coral Reefers jammed out for what was one of the longest songs of the night. It was great to hear Jimmy’s understated voice singing such a haunting, beautiful song like “Into the Mystic”. The song has a lucid, timeless quality. In fact, I’d love to hear Van Morrison sing “Pirate Looks at Forty”. Talk about how great that Crossroads would be. You should definitely look for Jimmy and ZBB’s episode on CMT. Brown and Jimmy’s voices really sound great together.

A psyched-up crowd of 17,000 men, women, and children showed up to see Jimmy Buffett & his Coral Reefer Band in Houston, TX last night. Jimmy and his band of veteran Coral Reefers brought out a few surprises at the Woodlands Pavilion on Thursday night including renditions of “Elvis Presley Blues”, “Tampico Trauma”, and a batch of new songs. Jimmy commented on the amount of young people who attended the show by thanking his fans for sharing his music with their children. After four decades of playing shows in Houston, Buffett has grown fond of a certain Mexican restaurant. At one point in Thursday’s he shouted, “Thou shall not eat 18 tacos at Ninfa’s!” This Saturday, Jimmy will travel to Frisco, Texas right outside Dallas to play soccer stadium Pizza Hut Park before taking a short break from touring. Bubba will pick up where he left off on June 17 at the Comcast Center in Mansfield, MA.

Parrottheads will be able to hear their favorite Jimmy songs on an intimate acoustic album, “Encores” this year. The album will be released on April 22nd and will only be available at Walmart. Featuring 22-songs, “Encores” comes from the encores off the 2008-09 tour. Jimmy often ends his shows with just a acoustic guitar, a microphone, and one of his timeless songs, so it makes great sense to put together a collection of these performances. Songs like “Come Monday”, “Coast of Carolina”, “Pirate Looks at Forty”, “Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans”, and “Death of an Unpopular Poet” are all on the record. Twelve of the tracks are Jimmy playing alone, while the other tracks have a few other surprise guests. “Encores” is a must have for any Jimmy fan.

Lucy “Lulu” Buffett, sister of Jimmy, was in the news this week as she was honored by the University of Southern Mississippi’s School of Business as the 2010 Boardman Entrepreneur of the Year. Lucy is the proud owner of Lulu’s Sunset Grill in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Located right on the water, Lulu’s is a great place for seafood, tropical drinks, cold beer, and of course a cheeseburger in paradise. Lulu’s has live music playing and serves more than seven hundred thousand customers a year. Lulu also is the author of a best-selling cookbook entitled “Crazy Sista Cooking” and went on “The Today Show” to promote the book. Congrats to Lulu! Wow, I’m hungry now.