Jimmy Buffett was part of the fabric at Jazz Fest

Jimmy Buffett was part of the fabric at Jazz Fest

Jimmy Buffett played at the New Orleans Jazz Fest for the first time in 1989 and played his final show there at the 2022 fest. He has sat in with Lyle Lovett, Dave Matthews, Allen Toussaint and many other performers during the fest. And, in deference to the respect he garnered from event producer Quint Davis, he was given use of a golf cart to scoot around the Fairgrounds. Buffett and Dave Matthews were the first two name acts to commit to the post Katrina 2006 Jazz Fest. Buffett also played at the 50th anniversary Jazz Fest in 2019. Buffett introduced Davis to Hollywood producer Frank Marshall and that resulted in “Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story,” a 2022 documentary that won a Grammy. “As the festival grew, he grew. It seemed like he helped pull us along,’’ Davis said. “When I put Jimmy on the last Sunday, everything changed and we had 50,000 people show up.’’
Davis added that Buffett arranged tours around the fest and typically gave the festival a steep discount on his fee.