Live from Jimmy Buffett tribute at the Hollywood Bowl with Kenny Chesney
Mikael Wood August Brown Erin Osmon April 11, 2024
He did his bit of smuggling, he once sang, and he ran his share of grass. Now, the late, great Jimmy Buffett is being honored by an assortment of his many friends and admirers in an all-star tribute concert Thursday night at the Hollywood Bowl.
Keep the Party Going, as the show is billed, takes place seven months after Buffett died from skin cancer in September at age 76, leaving behind a lifestyle empire that reportedly made him a billionaire and, of course, a deep catalog of wryly literate songs that blend country, pop, folk, rock and Caribbean music.
In the wake of his death came warm remembrances from the likes of former President Clinton, who said Buffetts work brought happiness to millions of people, and Alan Jackson, with whom Buffett recorded the No. 1 country hit Its Five OClock Somewhere. Elton John called him a unique and treasured entertainer; LL Cool J said he was glad we had time to vibe.
The 12 essential Jimmy Buffett songs
Among the many acts set to perform at the Bowl are Paul McCartney, the Eagles, Jon Bon Jovi, Jackson Browne, Brandi Carlile, Kenny Chesney, Eric Church, Sheryl Crow, Zac Brown, Jack Johnson, Pitbull and members of Buffetts longtime Coral Reefer Band.
The Times Mikael Wood and August Brown and author and journalist Erin Osmon are amid the Parrotheads and will provide live updates from the show as they happen.
7:11 p.m. Greetings from Margaritaville! (Sorry, I had no choice.) With a lineup long on boomer icons and an audience full of the fans Buffett often compared to Deadheads with credit cards tonights show promises to be like a stylishly graying Coachella, a prospect for which Im all in. Im Mikael Wood, The Times pop music critic, and Im happy to be here with my colleagues August Brown and Erin Osmon to play-by-play this tribute to the man who did as much as anyone to bring fruity drinks and sandy desperation into the pop vernacular. Mikael Wood
As the native Floridian on the Times team here, I am thrilled to see tonight as the beginning of a Buffett-sance among LAs songwriter set. Parrothead wear is the look of the summer to come. August Brown
And were off with a festive take on Its Five OClock Somewhere by Buffetts stalwart backup crew, the Coral Reefer Band. M.W.
Introducing himself as a Florida boy, Jake Owen says he knows a lot about citrus his way to queue up Grapefruit – Juicy Fruit. M.W.
The Coral Reefer Band puts a brass-infused NOLA spin on Pencil Thin Mustache, opener of Buffett catalog highlight Living and Dying in 3/4 Time. This colorful crowd the Bowl looks like a pastel kaleidoscope of leis and Hawaiian shirts is on its feet and loving it. I wore my Hush Puppies for the occasion. Perhaps Ill join them. Erin Osmon
7:26 p.m. Woody Harrelson is here in a beat-up cowboy hat recalling the time he and Buffett smoked a joint on the roof of the Vatican. “Thats not true of course,” he adds, “but wouldn’t that be a great story?” As one of the night’s first celeb presenters, the actor goes on to extol Buffetts creation of “a new genre of music and hotels and restaurants and old folks’ homes.” M.W.
7:32 p.m. Kenny Chesney takes “Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes” which, as bite-size philosophies go, is up there with the best. M.W.
Kenny Chesney says that, as a kid growing up in east Tennessee, Jimmy Buffett was the first person who showed him that a person can paint pictures with words; a touching and fitting sentiment before he launched into “Where I Come From,” a song that evokes the powerful, everyday images of Buffetts (and Chesneys) rural upbringings. E.O.
7:35 p.m. In a video tribute, Dolly Parton emphasizes Buffetts multi-hyphenate brilliance songwriter, author, mogul and that he was more than just a dude in flip flops. E.O.
7:42 p.m. The Jimmy Buffett lifestyle crosses seas and transcends continents, as Anglique Kidjo proved on a regal take of “One Particular Harbour.” The two were old pals and collaborators on “Ti Punch Caf,” from Jimmys final album “Equal Strain on All Parts,” and the respect and camaraderie between them is really delightful. A.B.
7:58 p.m. Zac Brown debuts a tender new song Pirates and Parrots at the Bowl tonight, written about and dedicated to Jimmy as Brown promises he is picking up where you left off..when the sun goes down well raise our drinks. Very sweet reminder that this music really meant a lot to a lot of songwriters who took it to new places. Another fitting tribute – Brown changing into shorts onstage. A.B.
8:01 p.m. A sepia-tone Indiana Jones-style video, titled Quest for the Shaker of Salt, tees up the nights next presenter: Harrison Ford. Jimmy Buffett was a cool guy, he says. Ford recalled a boozy lunch with Buffett and Ed Bradley that inspired him to get his ear pierced (because they both had earrings and he thought that was SO cool). He clarifies that for a cool guy Buffett was also singularly kind and loyal. There will never be anyone else like him. E.O.
8:04 p.m. Longtime Miami Heat coach Pat Riley recounting the time Jimmy Buffett got ejected from a game for calling the ref a Parrothead.Thats not an insult, thats a compliment, Riley recalled yelling back. Truly a crime against Florida to throw him out. A.B.
8:08 p.m. Eric Church intros a lightly snarling Son of a Son of a Sailor with a remembrance of the many summers he and Buffett spent in California, where theyd hike, enjoy afternoon wine and then end the day drinking tequila till there wasnt anymore tequila. M.W.
8:011 p.m. Timothy B. Schmit, ex member of Poco, the Eagles and the Coral Reefer Band, leads the band and the Bowl in a spirited performance of Volcano, a tune custom-tailored for crowd participation. Hes also, apparently, the first person to say Parrothead. I didnt know; I didnt know. E.O.
8:14 p.m. Jane Fonda wants to set the record straight, she says as she takes the stage to introduce Brandi Carlile: I was actually the one that smoked a bowl with Jimmy on the roof of the Vatican. Big laugh in the crowd. Fonda hails Buffetts generosity of spirit and his ability, like Tinkerbell, to sprinkle happiness wherever he went. M.W.
8:18 p.m. Reliable as always, Carlile does her tender-soulful 70s folk-rock thing in Tin Cup Chalice, then talks about her experiences fishing with Buffett, whom she says impressed many a lesbian fisherwoman by bragging that he was friends with Brandi Carlile. M.W.
8:20 p.m. Reliable as always, Carlile does her tender-soulful 70s folk-rock thing in Tin Cup Chalice, then talks about her experiences fishing with Buffett, whom she says impressed many a lesbian fisherwoman by bragging that he was friends with Brandi Carlile. M.W.
