From the Florida Times-Union: Concert review Coral Reefer Band carries on Jimmy Buffett’s legacy at Jacksonville show
How do you replace a legend like Jimmy Buffett?
You don’t, of course. But if you’re his long-time Coral Reefer Band, you can still play his songs well enough that fans might finally accept that the empty microphone at center stage is the closest they’re ever going to get.
Buffett died in 2023, and his band, most of whom have been together since at least the ’90s, are carrying on the tradition with a short spring tour that stopped by Jacksonville’s Daily’s Place Saturday night. The amphitheater wasn’t full, but it was still a pretty good crowd for the Saturday of Players Championship Week.
The obvious question: Without Buffett, who’s gonna sing? It turns out, pretty much everybody. Guitarist/singer Mac McAnally and country singer Scotty Emerick, who joined the tour last year, split most of the lead vocal duties. Guitarist Peter Mayer took a few songs, so did his son, Brendan, and keyboardist Mick Utley. Nadirah Shakoor about brought down the house on “One Particular Harbor,” then again on “Fins.”
But really, they could have just turned Buffett’s microphone toward the crowd because everyone in the place knew every word. Saturday night’s Daily”s Place crowd didn’t reach quite the frenzy it sometimes could when Buffett was onstage back in the day, but the parrothead hats were bobbing, the beach balls were flying and cups were raised on every chorus.
The band was as tight as ever, with McAnally stepping into the bandleader’s role (he’s a 10-time Country Music Association Musician of the Year, so it’s not much of a stretch). Buffett’s rambunctious stage presence certainly was missed on Saturday but, if you closed your eyes, it sure sounded like a Jimmy Buffett concert.
Did they play…? You don’t even need to finish the question because the answer is probably yes. They did all of the big hits — “Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes,” “Son of a Son of a Sailor,” “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” “Come Monday,” “A Pirate Looks at Forty” and, of course, “Margaritaville.” But they also dipped into a few more obscure Buffett gems, including “Blue Guitar,” “Lovely Cruise” and one of his last songs, “Bubbles Up.”
The band takes a few months off before going out on tour this summer with the Doobie Brothers.
It’s called the Keep the Party Going Tour, and that’s really what it felt like on Saturday night in Jacksonville; a party, not a “tribute” and certainly not a wake. There may have been a tear here or there when they ran photos of Buffett on the video screens, but that’s not what the evening was about. It was more of a celebration, one last chance to sing “Volcano” at the top of your lungs.