Matt Hoggart picks up a hitchhiking JB on way to Jazz Fest

Matt Hoggart picks up a hitchhiking JB on way to Jazz Fest

Coastal Mississippi musicians Matt Hoggart, Darwin and Dana Nelson, Taylor Craven, and Johnny Myer hosted a tribute to the musician who connected them at a packed out Grand Magnolia Ballroom two days after Jimmy Buffett passed in Pascagoula, Buffett’s hometown.
Hoggart shared one Jimmy Buffett story where Harrison Ford hanging up in the balcony at Margaritaville – New Orleans with his wife while he was playing a gig there was – not even the highlight. Buffett, in town for Jazz Fest, jumped up on stage with him. “We made up a song on the spot,’’ Hoggart posted on facebook, with a video to back it up.
Hoggart also posted a hilarious video of him picking up a hitchhiking Jimmy Buffett on old Hwy 90 in New Orleans. Buffett is carrying a sign when Hoggart pulls his SUV over.
Hoggart said a month before the shoot, Buffett bought him a GoPro camera to create his own show for Margaritaville TV. Buffett then decided he wanted to shoot a video with him when he was in NOLA for Jazz Fest. “Jimmy concocted this whole script himself, and we used my single GoPro camera during a two day session to record,’’ Hoggart posted. “Everything was done in 1-take segments, and in between the camera shots, Jimmy would move the camera to a new spot in my van or have me hold it for a different angle.
“Jimmy made a copy of all the video and said he wanted to edit it and create a final version and wanted me to do the same,’’ Hoggart said. Buffett later sent him an email to a link to an edit he said he finished on his plane. “ Ya’ll, he wasn’t a passenger on that plane, he was the pilot,’’ Hoggart posted.
Hoggart said the Jazz Fest sign Buffett was holding when he picked him up is his only autographed momento from his friend, except for a check when Buffett signed him to his label.
“The sign is hanging in my office, and the check was spent quickly and foolishly by a guy who still can’t believe he got a chance to take this ride in life. I hope the video makes you smile,’’ he posted.
Pictured: Hoggart and JB somewhere during the shooting of their “Hitchhiker” video. Hoggart said while the photo above was being taken in a parking lot on Hwy 90, a star-struck customer rear ended another customer’s car right in front of them.