Jammy Buffett, Boat Drunks, Django Walker added to MOTM line-up

Jammy Buffett, Boat Drunks, Django Walker added to MOTM line-up

Parrot Heads return to Gulf Shores for 4th time to celebrate all things Buffett Oct. 21-25

By Fran Thompson

“The Tiki Bar is Open” is the catch phrase and theme for the 34th Annual Parrot Heads in Paradise Meeting of the Minds convention slated to return to Gulf Shores for the fourth consecutive year Oct. 21-25. Registration for the gathering of Jimmy Buffett’s most passionate fans is open to the public and includes five days of concerts on the Hangout’s two stages.
The Hangout is at the center of the celebration, but Lulu’s at Homeport Marina and the Flora-Bama will also host an array of trop rock stars and MOTM related events, special concerts and fundraisers during the fest. Coastal Restaurant, Sunliner Dinner, Picnic Beach, Embassy Suites and The Catch will also host events.
Already booked for the Hangout mainstage are Boat Drunks, Ricky Lamb & The No Bad Days Band, Thom and Colby Shepherd, Jimmy and the Parrots, Django Walker, Johnny Russler, Jammy Buffet and Rosie and the Revival. Last year’s fest also included performances from Gulf Shores based songwriters Wes Loper and Brent Burns, as well as Mobile’s Will Kimbrough., who has more than 20 Jimmy Buffett co-writes on his resume.
Registration for the fest is $229 plus tax and fees, with VIP package available for $529 plus fees. Registration is currently scheduled to close on . Weekend passes are available at Motmrocks.com and daily and full fest passes will also be sold at the registration desk at The Hangout.
The Wednesday party at the Hangout is open to the public. The Thursday thru Saturday shows at The Hangout are for ticket holders only.
Founded in 1992, PHIP is a global nonprofit with 196 member clubs and over 25,000 passionate Parrotheads who embody the easygoing lifestyle Buffett championed through his music.
PHIP is also committed to charitable work nationally and locally. To date, PHIP has contributed over $64 million to causes including the Jimmy Buffett charitable foundations, local club charities and local non-profits such as the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo.
Utilizing a party with a purpose philosophy, Parrot Heads always leave their events and the communities where they gather a little better than they found them.
While here in 2025, MOTM participants sponsored activities resulted in funds raised for the following local non-profits: Special Operations Warrior Foundation, $2000; Bras Across the Causeway, $2000; South Baldwin Community Theater, $2000; Christian Service Center, $2000, 81 toys, 60 pairs of shoes; Foley HS Steel Drum Band, $2000; Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo, $3900; Singing for a Change, $9500; PHiP Scholarship, $9935; Other PHiP donations, $4725; Skippin & Sippin, $2600; Parrot Heads do Brasway, $5000; Lone Palm Foundation, $35,543.
Direct contributions totaled $78,603, and assisted contributions added $26,000 for a total of $104,603.
“Parrot Heads live to give to their communities, Music is our soul and charity is the heart that drives us. We want to thank all the people and local town folk that have helped us have such a successful run here in Gulf Shores. We look forward to coming back,’’ said MOTM spokesperson Vincent MacQueen at the time
In addition to a full slate of shows beginning in the morning on one of The Hangout’s three stages, MOTM events include a Tuesday on the Island Party at Lulu’s featuring Donny Brewer, daily shows at LuLu’s with Burns and special guests, day and evening shows at Picnic Beach & The Catch, shows (some for VIP guests only) at the spectacular Embassy Suites rooftop bistro; two curated gems, including the SWIM Showcase, at The Gulf in Orange Beach; and Lulu’s Sippin’ & Skippin’, featuring a 5K run, a second line and lots of funky rhythms.
As usual, MOTM attendees will be allowed to set up and leave for the weekend chairs in front of the main stage in the Hangout courtyard beginning at 9 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 22. And they will. The protocol is that if a chair is empty (and most of them are until the early evening), others can use it until the owner returns.
This year, MOTM has partnered with the Lower Alabama Parrot Head Club to rent chairs at a cost of $35 for the weekend. the locals will collect the chairs at the conclusion of the event, and donate funds raised to its designated charities.
Although this is only the 4th year that MOTM will assemble in Gulf Shores, its history with Mobile’s own Jimmy Buffett goes all the way back to the first ever Margaritaville.
Before the retail store in Key West in 1985, the Margaritaville restaurant in that same hamlet in 1987, and a second Margaritaville restaurant in New Orleans in 1993, there was J.B’s Margaritaville in Gulf Shores.
Jimmy confirmed that fact from the stage at the 2010 BP Concert at Gulf Shores Public Beach:
“We’re coming home in a lot of ways here. A lot of people don’t know, if you study your history – it’s not even in Wickipedia – that the actual first Margaritaville was in Gulf Shores, Alabama before it was in Key West, Florida,’’ Buffett said. “Let’s just say we didn’t do as good here as we did eventually, but it was a learning process. You can put that up on Wickipedia or you can just take it and throw it in the Gulf. I don’t care.’’
Pictured: Organizers said picking the best logo for this year’s MOTM was like trying to pick their favorite child or Jimmy Buffett song. So they decided to pick two. Beverly Gauder of the Atlanta PHC was the 1st place winner (left), which will be featured on the event shirts and goody bags. Lauren Brown of the St. Louis PHC (right) was the 2nd place winner. Her artwork will also be featured throughout the MOTM experience.