Occupational Hazard: The First Coral Reefers Documentary Premieres February 9th

Occupational Hazard: The First Coral Reefers, a feature documentary that is about Jimmy Buffett’s original band is set to premiere at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on February 9th, with a second screening on February 13th. The documentary is narrated by Academy Award winner Jeff Bridges.

The documentary features commentary from Kenny Chesney, Mac McAnally, songwriter Keith Sykes as well as many original Coral Reefer band members and touring crew. The First Coral Reefers were a group of talented, often unruly characters whose creative energy and personal chemistry helped define Buffett’s most iconic early work. Occupational Hazard is directed by John H. Cunningham, who has a deep and close connection to several members of the first Coral Reefers as well as to a lifelong affinity to Jimmy Buffett, as their paths crossed many times, beginning in the Florida Keys in the 1970s.

Occupational Hazard is a feature documentary that traces the origins and evolution of Jimmy Buffett’s original Coral Reefer Band during the 1970s and early 1980s—a group of wildly talented, often unruly characters whose creative energy and personal chemistry helped define Buffett’s most iconic early work.

Set largely in Key West, a place the bandmates describe as having its own rhythm and creative spark, the film delves into how this laid-back island community shaped not only the music but the mindset of the early Coral Reefers. Through rare, never-before-seen archival footage and deeply personal interviews with founding members, tour managers, producers and music legends, Occupational Hazard captures the camaraderie, chaos, and magic of an era that thrived on freedom and lived without a rulebook. 

From dusty road gigs and dive-bar rehearsals to the first big studio albums, the documentary details how this group crafted a sound and built a touring family—until the hard-partying lifestyle, dubbed the “heavy artillery years,” began to take its toll. Drug use led to burnout, and tragedy crept in, but Buffett’s desire to succeed resulted in a near-total transformation of the band on his road to becoming one of the most successful musicians of our generation.

This film is a tribute to Buffett and the original Coral Reefers, the places and people that shaped them, the volatile beauty of a musical moment that couldn’t last but changed everything and their candid sentiment toward Buffett. It’s the origin story upon which the Parrot Head empire was built upon, by the people who helped lay the foundation. 

Occupational Hazard: The First Coral Reefers SBIFF Screening Information:

February 9, 2026
8:00PM
Fiesta Five – Auditorium 1
916 State St, Santa Barbara, CA 93101

February 13, 2026
6:00PM
Fiesta Five – Auditorium 4
916 State St, Santa Barbara, CA 93101

For tickets + info please visit https://sbiff.org/

From Rolling Stone: See Jimmy Buffett’s Band Reminisce About Drinking More Than Led Zep, the Stones
A new doc, Occupational Hazard: The First Coral Reefers, pays tribute to Margaritaville’s first citizens

“Jimmy Buffett was a force of nature,” might read like the most obvious sentence in the world, but when you hear Jeff Bridges narrate the words as the Margarita Man sings “Why Don’t We Get Drunk,” it feels otherworldly. The moment occurs about halfway through the trailer for Occupational Hazard: The First Coral Reefers, a new documentary about the band that backed Buffett up in the Seventies and early Eighties. The film, which John H. Cunningham directed, will premiere at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on Feb. 9

In interviews in the doc, the musicians recall how the Coral Reefer Band were “ragged” but how they helped Buffett find his signature sound. They also explain how the group got its name from Key West’s coral reef but also “reefer,” a word for “marijuana back then.” One musician even pantomimes a big reefer toke. But of course pot wasn’t all they consumed. “We had more liquor on our rider than Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones,” a woman says with a laugh. (The Coral Reefer Band played on Buffett’s biggest hit, “Margaritaville.”) It all adds up to what looks like a wild and freewheeling look at a wild and freewheeling band.