Tribute will honor late Jimmy Buffett

THE CLOSEST THING TO MARGARITAVILLE

Mark Wood and the Parrot Head Band Sept. 14 | 7:30 p.m. Amphitheater Stage

Sponsors: Optum Healthcare and UnitedHealthcare

Just 14 days after the death of legendary musician Jimmy Buffett, Mark Wood will grace the Amphitheater stage to pay tribute to the singer known for tropical rock hits inspired by island living.

Wood began listening to and playing Jimmy Buffett tunes in the early 1970s. The stories that Jimmy told in his songs, along with the great melodies, were always intriguing to Wood. Songs like “Margaritaville,” “A Pirate Looks at 40,” “Pencil Thin Mustache” and “Tampico Trauma” became staples in his solo career. After the death of Buffett earlier this month, Wood and his accompanying Parrot Head Band played a last-minute show in Costa Mesa.

“It was a wonderful way to begin to come to grips with Jimmy’s passing; all of us together, singing and reliving Jimmy’s stories,” Wood said. “What I realized that evening was that even though Jimmy’s not here with us in body, his spirit lives on in the legacy of his stories, his songs and in each and every one of us who have loved, lived and experienced them in our own personal way.”

Wood has a long history as a Buffett tribute singer. In 1999, a friend in the corporate event planning business needed a “Jimmy-style” band for an event.

This was a chance for Wood to put together the perfect party band with a Cajun/Zydeco-style rhythm section with a Reggae keyboardist, a country guitarist, R& B sax man, Parrot Head singers and a steel drummer who actually studied with a Coral Reefer Band member.

The combination is what makes Mark Wood and the Parrot Head Band the next best thing to Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band.

The band has performed around the world in theaters, concerts, casinos, corporate events, for the U.S. military, for private parties, and even opened for Jimmy Buffett at the Verizon Amphitheater.

The timely Buffett tribute will be the final Amphitheater show of the 2023 season.

Non-resident guests must be accompanied by a resident. Smoking is not permitted at the Amphitheater, which is located behind the LW News Office in the GRF Administration complex.

No parking is allowed in front of the Amphitheater on St. Andrews Drive along the southbound lanes. Minibus transportation will be available before and after the show.

Mark Wood and the Parrot Head band have been performing since 1999.About Buffett’s death, Wood said, “His spirit lives on in the legacy of his stories, his songs and in each and every one of us.”