The City of Mobile served as the destination for flocks of “Parrot Heads” and visitors for the inaugural Son of a Sailor Fest on Saturday, September 21, 2024, in Cathedral Square, located in the heart of the downtown entertainment district. The free music festival was a tribute and sailor’s salute to Jimmy Buffett and Gulf Coast music.

Visit Mobile sponsored the event, along with the City and County of Mobile, Downtown Mobile Alliance, Lulu’s Restaurants and many others.

Approximately 1,800 people attended Saturday’s events, which included a second-line celebration that paraded down Dauphin Street, led by Blow House Brass Band. Fifty VIPs (Very Important Pirates) attended a meet-and-greet reception at The Admiral Hotel, where they heard stories from Milton Brown. Brown and John Edd Thompson produced Buffett’s first album after Brown discovered the musician playing a gig at The Admiral.

An estimated 20 percent of festival goers traveled at least 100 miles to Mobile to join the fun.

The downtown entertainment district businesses joined the celebration by offering frozen concoctions and Caribbean-themed snacks. Staff from Pat’s Downtown Grill and Hayley’s likened the atmosphere and attendance to Mardi Gras Day.

Joseph Brennan, the festival's principal organizer, agreed, “We party in the street in Mobile, and we love throwing a parade. That Mardi Gras spirit is in our blood, so it was only natural that we strike up a band, throw that margarita in a go-cup and dance in the street for Jimmy.”

One Parrot Head told organizers, “This is the happiest crowd I’ve seen in such a long time, and boy, do we need something like this right now!”

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 Buffett’s death.

Read more about the story behind the inaugural Son of a Sailor Fest here.