Visit Mobile is excited to announce the City of Mobile will serve as the destination for flocks of “Parrot Heads” and visitors for the inaugural Son of a Sailor Fest, a tribute and sailor’s salute to Jimmy Buffett and Gulf Coast Music. The music festival will take place on Saturday, September 21, 2024, in Cathedral Square, located in the heart of the downtown entertainment district.
Most notably, the celebration is free of charge.
This family-friendly street festival will feature a second-line parade, Parrot Head costume contests and musical acts inspired by Jimmy Buffett and the area’s unique coastal culture.
The headlining act of Son of a Sailor Fest, or S.O.S. Fest, is A1A, the official Jimmy Buffett tribute show. The event’s committee recently announced the addition of Will Kimbrough, an honorary Coral Reefer, writer and performer featured on every Jimmy Buffett studio album recorded in the last twenty years.
Buffett was raised in Mobile, serving as an altar boy at St. Ignatius Parish and attending McGill-Toolen Catholic High School. He was ultimately discovered by Milton Brown, who happened upon The Admiral Hotel on Government Street, where Buffett played a gig after completing his shift at the Alabama State Docks.
Son of a Sailor Fest began in 2023 as a free, impromptu celebration of life second-line parade and tribute concert called the Jimmy Buffett Hometown Second Line, immediately following Jimmy Buffett’s death. Read more about the story behind the inaugural Son of a Sailor Fest here.
For more information about the music festival, visit the website, www.sos-fest.com, and follow on social media for updates, including VIP packages, additional musical acts and more.
