Buffett's Summer: Album, Soundtrack But No Tour

[Sweet Jane 61]

Buffett's Summer: Album, Soundtrack But No Tour

Jeff Vrabel, Jacksonville, Fla.

Chief Parrothead and summer touring perennial Jimmy Buffett told his Radio Margaritaville listeners yesterday (Feb. 1) that he's planning to take the summer off this year.

"I'm kinda taking it easy now," he said in a conversation with Radio Margaritaville DJ Miles Hampton. "It's the last summer with my kids before they go off to boarding school, so I'm gonna travel with them and work the spring and the fall. I don't want to do much right now," he added with a laugh.

That said, he reported that he's "firming up a few dates" for a spring tour, most of which are rumored to be in the southeast. "Everybody seems to figure it out before I do anyway," he said. He added that he's planning "some interesting things for the fall." Last fall, Buffett did two shows at Chicago's Wrigley Field; the previous year he played Fenway Park in Boston.

Buffett has also been putting in time at his Shrimp Boat Studios in Key West, Fla., recording the follow-up to 2004's "License to Chill," which debuted at No. 1 on The Billboard 200. Ten tracks are done, with three more set to be recorded in February. "We're on pace for it to come out in the fall," Buffett said.

In addition to those songs, Buffett will contribute three or four tracks, including a duet with his "It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere" partner Alan Jackson, to the soundtrack of the film "Hoot."

Based on the Carl Hiassen novel, the Wil Shriner-directed teen drama is set for U.S. release on April 28 and will find Buffett in a small role as a marine science teacher. The soundtrack features a duet between Maroon 5 and Bill Withers as well as "some young great new talent," Buffett said.

A summer without Buffett...bummer man!