Boxoffice Insider: Jimmy Buffett's Amphitheaters In Paradise

Tim Mosenfelder / Getty Images – Jimmy Buffett
Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band play KAABOO Del Mar near San Diego in 2016.

Aside from a beach stage in a tropical paradise, perhaps the most appropriate location for a Jimmy Buffett concert is the casual, laidback setting of an outdoor amphitheater. A glance at his box office history certainly suggests as much when looking at how many sheds have hosted the entertainer multiple times throughout the years.

Of course, with almost 50 headlining tours since the ‘70s, Buffett has also played a host of arenas and stadiums, many of them with multiple dates as well (see Pollstar Q&A with Buffett). The MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas alone has 13 engagements logged in the archives and, among stadiums, Chicago’s Wrigley Field has three.

See: Fins Up! Buffett All In For NoCap Q&A

But according to Pollstar Boxoffice reports, which stretch back to the early ‘80s, 20 outdoor amphitheaters have staged 10 or more Jimmy Buffett concerts. Two venues share the spotlight – Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, N.Y., and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands, Texas – with 18 concert engagements on record at each for Buffett and his Coral Reefer Band.

Three shows at Jones Beach, located on New York’s Long Island, top $1 million in ticket revenue, all from recent years, with No. 1 being Buffett’s Aug. 25, 2016 show, which took in $1.3 million from 13,446 sold tickets during the first leg of the “I Don’t Know Tour.” The same tour continued the following year, and included an Aug. 15, 2017 show at the venue, second among top grosses with over $1.1 million from 13,082 tickets. Then, on Aug. 2, 2018, a Jones Beach sellout with 12,565 Parrotheads in attendance earned just over $1.1 million, his third-highest recorded gross at the venue. Attendance records at Jones Beach were set in 1993 when Buffett played two consecutive nights (Aug. 17-18) for his highest overall ticket count of 22,071, but his best-attended single concert there came on Aug. 29, 2000 with 14,333 fans present.

In the Houston market, the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion has topped the $1 million mark six times with Buffett concerts, led by last year’s June 1 performance, the only one to top $1.2 million. The next five were from summer concerts in 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014, all with grosses falling between $1.16 and $1.19 million. Attendance analysis at the Houston shed shows the top ticket count was 25,851 on May 6-7, 1997, the most among Buffett’s five two-show engagements, yet he drew his top crowd for a single show on May 20, 2010 with a count of 15,967.

Three venues have 17 Buffett concerts in the archives – the Detroit area DTE Energy Music Theatre, Cincinnati’s Riverbend Music Center and the now-closed Irvine (Calif.) Meadows Amphitheatre.

The S&T Bank Music Park west of Pittsburgh and the Indianapolis-area’s Ruoff Music Center follow, both with 15 reported concerts, while one venue has 14 shows in the archives – Shoreline Amphitheatre in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, Wis., scores with 13 Buffett shows, and both Jiffy Lube Live near Washington and BB&T Pavilion in Camden, N.J. have hosted Buffett 12 times.

Four venues have 11 shows in the database: Dos Equis Pavilion in Dallas, Ak-Chin Pavilion in Phoenix, Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek in Raleigh, N.C. and Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in the Chicago suburb of Tinley Park, Ill.

Another five venues make the list of 20 with 10 concerts recorded. They are Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, Atlanta’s Cellairis Amphitheatre at Lakewood, PNC Music Pavilion in Charlotte, N.C., PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, N.J. and Boston-area shed Xfinity Center in Mansfield, Mass.