Followers of Jimmy Buffett placed on their most colourful Parrot Head gear over Labor Day weekend in Key West to honor the island metropolis’s favourite son in the course of the Only a Few Buddies celebration. The annual occasion’s centerpiece is the Second Line Memorial Parade, a joyful march down Duval Road with 1000’s of followers honoring Jimmy’s joyful spirit. Picture: Florida Keys Information Bureau
This Labor Day Weekend (Aug. 29–Sept. 1), Key West invitations you to have fun the life and music of Jimmy Buffett within the island paradise that impressed his songs. Only a Few Buddies fills the island metropolis with parades, concert events, margaritas, and extra — a tropical tribute to the person who turned Key West into “a frame of mind.”
From the streets and bars Jimmy sang about to the harbors that sparked his tales, followers can stroll, sip, and sing alongside within the locations that formed his “modifications in latitude, modifications in perspective.”
The competition is a component memorial, half music fest, and all Buffett spirit.
“That is about greater than music,” stated co-organizer Paul Menta. “We honor Jimmy’s reminiscence by immersing individuals within the island he cherished — the individuals, the historical past, the sunsets, the flavors. It’s a celebration of the lifestyle he made his personal.”
It’s “Fins Up!”alongside Key West’s Duval Road in the course of the 2024 Second Line Memorial Strolling Parade honoring Jimmy Buffett. The 2025 parade steps off at 5 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 31, ending at Truman Waterfront Park for a musical celebration that includes Coral Reefer vocalist Nadirah Shakoor and a stage filled with Buffett’s musical pals. Picture: Florida Keys Information Bureau
The weekend’s centerpiece is Sunday’s Second Line Memorial Parade, a joyful march down Duval Road ending at Truman Waterfront Park. There, the free Social gathering within the Park live performance rolls into sundown with Howard Livingston & the Mile Marker 24 Band, Coral Reefer vocalist Nadirah Shakoor, and a stage filled with Buffett’s musical pals.
Different highlights: former Coral Reefer guitarist Roger Bartlett & the Nautical Wheelers (Saturday), and Buffett’s “Bubbles Up” co-writer Will Kimbrough (Monday) — each at Sundown Pier overlooking Key West Harbor, the place the breeze and the margaritas movement.
Past the music, adventures channel Jimmy’s island way of life: crusing schooners, floating tiki bars, strolling excursions of his favourite haunts, ebook signings, pool events, a 5K run, a waterfront cleanup, and even a mustache look-alike contest on the Chart Room Bar — the place Buffett first sang for ideas and beer.
Two ticketed favorites: Friday’s Cheeseburger on the Seaside Contest, with dwell music from Margaritas in Paradise (sure, paradise has a soundtrack), and Saturday’s Milagro Margarita Bar Stroll, the place 22 bars compete for the title of Key West’s Greatest Margarita.
Whereas Parrotheads fly in from throughout, the competition’s coronary heart beats native. Collectible Occasion Badges profit Reef Aid, the Bahama Village Music Program, and the Key West Excessive College Marching Band — elevating over $34,000 final 12 months alone.
For followers who need greater than a live performance, Only a Few Buddies is your passport to a “Margaritaville” frame of mind — and the island that made Jimmy Buffett legendary. Particulars, badges, and ticket information: www.justafewfriendskeywest.com.
