This Labor Day Weekend (Aug. 29–Sept. 1), Key West invites you to celebrate the life and music of Jimmy Buffett in the island paradise that inspired his songs. Just a Few Friends fills the island city with parades, concerts, margaritas, and more — a tropical tribute to the man who turned Key West into “a state of mind.”
From the streets and bars Jimmy sang about to the harbors that sparked his stories, fans can stroll, sip, and sing along in the places that shaped his “changes in latitude, changes in attitude.”
The festival is part memorial, part music fest, and all Buffett spirit.
“This is about more than music,” said co-organizer Paul Menta. “We honor Jimmy’s memory by immersing people in the island he loved — the people, the history, the sunsets, the flavors. It’s a celebration of the way of life he made his own.”
It’s “Fins Up!”along Key West’s Duval Street during the 2024 Second Line Memorial Walking 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 featuring Coral Reefer vocalist Nadirah Shakoor and a stage full of Buffett’s musical friends. Photo: Florida Keys News Bureau
The weekend’s centerpiece is Sunday’s Second Line Memorial Parade, a joyful march down Duval Street ending at Truman Waterfront Park. There, the free Party in the Park concert rolls into sunset with Howard Livingston & the Mile Marker 24 Band, Coral Reefer vocalist Nadirah Shakoor, and a stage full of Buffett’s musical friends.
Other highlights: former Coral Reefer guitarist Roger Bartlett & the Nautical Wheelers (Saturday), and Buffett’s “Bubbles Up” co-writer Will Kimbrough (Monday) — both at Sunset Pier overlooking Key West Harbor, where the breeze and the margaritas flow.
Beyond the music, adventures channel Jimmy’s island lifestyle: sailing schooners, floating tiki bars, walking tours of his favorite haunts, book signings, pool parties, a 5K run, a waterfront cleanup, and even a mustache look-alike contest at the Chart Room Bar — where Buffett first sang for tips and beer.
Two ticketed favorites: Friday’s Cheeseburger on the Beach Contest, with live music from Margaritas in Paradise (yes, paradise has a soundtrack), and Saturday’s Milagro Margarita Bar Stroll, where 22 bars compete for the title of Key West’s Best Margarita.
While Parrotheads fly in from all over, the festival’s heart beats local. Collectible Event Badges benefit Reef Relief, the Bahama Village Music Program, and the Key West High School Marching Band — raising over $34,000 last year alone.
For fans who want more than a concert, Just a Few Friends is your passport to a “Margaritaville” state of mind — and the island that made Jimmy Buffett legendary. Details, badges, and ticket info: www.justafewfriendskeywest.com.