As Jimmy Buffett‘s Coral Reefer Band prepares for its first national tour since his death on Sept. 1, 2023, at the age of 76, its mission to maintain the spirit of Margaritaville is clear.
“The prime directive, really, is to honor the legacy that Jimmy did such a fine job of building,” singer-songwriter Mac McAnally, a Coral Reefer since 1994 — and who performed as part of Buffett’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame honor last October — tells Billboard. “There’s clearly no replacing him. We’re gonna leave his mic open in the center of the stage and his guitar on a stand. He specifically wanted the music to live on and we want the music to live on. I think it’s a great benefit to humanity for his music to live on.”
McAnally and the other Coral Reefers — a 13-member troupe that includes Buffett collaborators Will Kimbrough, Scotty Emerick and Nadirah Shakoor sharing lead vocals with McAnally — have performed sporadically since his passing at the age of 76, including at Keep the Party Going: A Tribute to Jimmy Buffett at the Hollywood Bowl in April 2024 and at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival the following month. On Monday, Aug. 4, they will hit the road with the Doobie Brothers, with dates through Sept. 18 in Toronto. “It’s just a really cool pairing to play with the Doobies,” McAnally explains, “because at various times Jimmy has opened for them, and I think they, at one point, opened for him along the way, too. They’re one of the great American rock n’ roll bands, and we’re very honored to try to set the stage for them.”
Notably missing from the Coral Reefer lineup is keyboardist and chief collaborator Michael Utley, who along with McAnally produced Buffett’s posthumous 2023 album Equal Strain on All Parts. “He was ready to go home and do the golden years with his lovely wife already, but we just left it so he can come any time he wants to — but he’s not gonna be touring full-time anymore,” McAnally says. Utley’s son Mick has taken his place, and the senior Utley is fully supportive of keeping the Coral Reefer Band alive.
“I think it’s great they’re still doing that. I wanted that to happen,” Michael Utley says. “The fans want it. They miss Jimmy, like we all do, but they need that music and the escapism.”
McAnally, who also plays Buffett songs during his own shows — and recently released a new version of “Oysters and Pearls” that he and Buffett wrote together for 1999’s Beach House on the Moon album — says the Coral Reefer shows have been “a family reunion” for Buffett’s ardent Parrothead fan base.
“Jimmy built a fanbase that wasn’t based on hit records or selling anything in particular — although he was good at selling all kinds of things. But it was really based on a guy you knew was coming to town and was going to have at least as good a time as you. He was the happiest guy in the building most times we ever played, and that made people want to come and be connected to that. It is like a family reunion for his fans and the band to go sing these songs that brought so much joy, and have so much joy left in them to move forward.”
McAnally adds there may well be more of the music to hear in the future, from Buffett’s vaults — including what he says is “a gorgeous version” of Joni Mitchell’s “Amelia.”
“There’s a few (songs) around,” he says, “not as many as, like, the giant backlog they talk about with Prince. There’s nothing like that. But there’s enough recorded and unreleased material to make an album. Most of that record stuff I have, and I’ve got to go back and address it. I wouldn’t want to assemble a project that was just a release for its own sake; some of it (Buffett) never considered a final vocal, so I wouldn’t want to put anything out that I feel like he wouldn’t be happy with. But there’s definitely some good stuff that’s there, and at some point it’ll get put together.
“At this point we’re more concerned about keeping the party going, as he put so well. So the tour comes first, then in the break from the tour I’m gonna open some hard drives and some old analog tape and see what we have under the hood.”
In addition to McAnally, Kimbrough, Emerick, Shakoor and Mick Utley, the current Coral Reefer Band includes Eric Darken on percussion, Doyle Grisham on pedal steel, Robert Greenidge on steel drums, Tina Gullickson on backing vocals, Peter Mayer on lead guitar and backing vocals, Jim Mayer on bass and backing vocals, Roger Guth on drums and John Lovell on trumpet. The group’s tour dates with the Doobie Brothers include:
8.4.25 – Clarkston, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre
8.6.25 – Burgettstown, PA – The Pavilion at Star Lake
8.7.25 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
8.9.25 – Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live
8.10.25 – Wantagh, NY – Northwell at Jones Beach
8.12.25 – Virginia Beach, VA – Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheatre
8.13.25 – Camden, NJ – Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
8.15.25 – Boston, MA – Xfinity Center
8.17.25 – Gilford, NH – BankNH Pavilion
8.18.25 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Broadview Stage at SPAC
9.4.25 – St. Louis, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheater
9.5.25 – Ridgedale, MO – Thunder Ridge Nature Arena
9.9.25 – Milwaukee, WI – American Family Insurance Amphitheatre
9.10.25 – Tinley Park, IL – Credit Union 1 Amphitheater
9.12.25 – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center
9.13.25 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center
9.15.25 – Franklin, TN – FirstBank Amphitheatre
9.17.25 – Cuyahoga Falls, OH – Blossom Music Center
9.18.25 – Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage
Great Job Joe Lynch & the Team @ Billboard Source link for sharing this story.
