On April 11, friends, family and admirers of Jimmy Buffet gathered to celebrate his life in a touching tribute concert at the Hollywood Bowl. The event was titled "Keep the Party Going: A Tribute to Jimmy Buffett."
Buffet died in September 2023 from skin cancer. He was 76 years old.
An impressive line up of stars appeared to celebrate the "Margaritaville" singer: Paul McCartney, the Eagles, Jon Bon Jovi, Zac Brown, Jackson Browne, Brandi Carlile, Kenny Chesney, Eric Church, Sheryl Crow, Scotty Emerick, Jack Johnson, Caroline Jones, Mac McAnally, Jake Owen, Pitbull and Jake Shimabukuro.
Though country singers dominated the roster, Buffett's celebration dipped its toe into seemingly every genre. The Coral Reefer Band, of which Buffett was the frontman, also performed. Surprise musical performances included the Dave Matthews band, Jon Bon Jovi and Snoop Dogg.
"I swear to God I just saw Snoop Dogg sing 'Gin and Juice' with the Coral Reefer Band," said Judd Apatow, who was a stage presenter at the event.
One X, formerly Twitter user, shared a Tik Tok video of the event, writing that "At no point in this video from the Jimmy Buffett tribute at the Hollywood Bowl can you possibly predict who they will show next."
"Not Mr. 305 as the grand finale," read one of the replies, joking about the video ending on singer Pitbull, whose appearance at the event came as a surprise to some users. However, Pitbull is a known fan of Buffett's; earlier this year, he released "Thank God and Jimmy Buffett" as a tribute to the late singer. Pitbull performed the track alongside Bon Jovi.
Actors like Will Arnett, Woody Harrelson and Harrison Ford joined the singers on stage. The celebration was packed with celebrities from all walks of the arts, all gathered in remembrance of the "Cheeseburger in Paradise" singer. Anya Taylor-Joy, Malcolm McRae, Miles Teller and Keleigh Teller were also spotted at Keep the Party Going.
Buffett was widely admired for his chilled out attitude, something that appeared throughout his extensive discography. His hit song "Margaritaville" spawned a massive chain of restaurants, resorts and even retirement homes. The de facto home base for Margaritaville is in Key West, Florida. Dedicated "Parrotheads" across the world were hit hard by the loss of the cultural icon.
"Margaritaville" debuted at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1977. The track returned to the 38th position on the charts shortly after the singer's death. "Margaritaville" has garnered over 170,000,000 streams on Spotify alone.
Thursday's event isn't the only tribute thrown in Buffett's name. In November 2023, Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackon and the Zac Brown Band performed a tribute to Buffett at the CMA Awards. Jackson and Buffett previously collaborated on "5 O'Clock Somewhere."
During Keep the Party Going, Harrison Ford divulged that he got his ear pierced because of Jimmy Buffett.
"Jimmy Buffett was a cool guy," began Ford. After a "boozy lunch" with Buffett and Ed Bradley, he noticed something about the two.
"I saw that both of them had earrings, so right after lunch, I got my ear pierced," he said to a laughing crowd.
The night was full of both laughs and tears. One fan on X summarized the intense emotions of the night, posting a video of the event.
"Was mostly holding it together at the Jimmy Buffett tribute until Paul McCartney raised a margarita and yelled 'JIMMY' at the night sky," she wrote.
Paul McCartney told a heartwarming story of a time when he had forgotten to bring his guitar and Buffett "had his own guitar strung left-handed for me."
"The next time I saw him, he had one custom made left-handed for me. So, I love Jimmy," said the Beatle.
Keep the Party Going ended appropriately whenMcCartney led the crowd, and a hefty gathering of stars upon the stage, in a cover of "Margaritaville." As McCartney sang the iconic line, "Lookin' for my lost shaker of salt," the crowd answered the call with the response that Buffett had always prepared them for:
"Salt! Salt! Salt!"
