Additional Show Info: Doors @ 6pm / No outside food or beverage / Small folding chairs allowed (General Admission area) / Rain or Shine event / Umbrellas not permitted / Parking $5 (Centennial Lot) / Smoking allowed in designated areas only / General Admission – standing room or bring a small chair
Frank Bama has been a fan of Jimmy Buffett for what seems like forever. Always in love with adventure and the tropics (“I was a big fan of the ‘Tales of the Gold Monkey” TV show), a family member introduced him to Buffett’s music in 1985. “I was hooked after the first track. His songs say so much. The stories, the characters, and the fun make you want drop everything and go live in the tropics. It’s the lifestyle a lot of us would lead if we had the chance. Or the courage.” He saw his first Buffett concert the following year. “What an experience,” he says. “Thousands of people all at the same party.”
There is no question that a lot of other folks feel the same way. Dressed in tropical shirts, Bermuda shorts, island hats and other beach togs, fans of all ages transform into Parrotheads during Buffett’s concerts and escape to Margaritaville. Not found on any map, it’s more of a state of mind. The music, with influences from New Orleans, Key West, and the tropics, conjures images of a laid-back island life-style of friends, frozen cocktails, and beach parties. There is nothing quite like the experience of a Jimmy Buffett concert. That is, if you’re lucky enough to get tickets. Buffet has cut his tour dates to a minimum and shows sell out in minutes.
What’s a Parrothead to do? In 1992 Bama (a stage name taken from a character in a Buffett novel) formed a musical tribute to Jimmy’s style of Caribbean Soul called Air Margaritaville. He and the band have struck a chord with Parrotheads throughout the mid-west. From songs Parrotheads know by heart like Cheeseburger in Paradise, Fins, and Volcano to Buffett’s classic covers of Brown Eyed Girl and Southern Cross, to the recent hits like Bama Breeze and It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere it’s impossible to stand still without feeling the urge to dance and sing along. Their shows take on the flavor of a carnival as people, dressed in their finest beach togs and formal flip-flops, take a break from the hassles of daily life, board a flying boat with this band of rogues, and hop from island to island bringing the party with them wherever they land.
The flight crew includes Charlie Salaz (bass), Marty Kane (drums), Tom McGovern (harmonica), Bing Buress (lead guitar), Lamar Woodall (steel drums), Jim LeFevre (keyboards), and Albert Hinosa (percussion). Air Margaritaville has played for thousands of Buffett fans throughout the mid-west and has even had members of Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band join them onstage.
The band is a three-time Detroit Music Award nominee as “Outstanding Tribute Band”, have made numerous appearances on the Mitch Albom radio show and have opened for national acts like The Marshall Tucker Band. Their latest recording, “Alive Along the North Coast”, is available now.
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