Jimmy Buffett no longer headlining Summerfest, organizers say

Piet Levy, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
·2 min read
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Bad news, Parrotheads: There'll be no Margaritaville at Summerfest after all.

Jimmy Buffett, who shared news that he was hospitalized before a planned show last month, will no longer be headlining the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, festival.

Buffett was originally scheduled to perform at Summerfest's American Family Insurance Amphitheater on July 6. Instead, fans will "Sober Up" with new headliners AJR.

Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band will not be performing at Summerfest's American Family Insurance Amphitheater July 6. Pop band AJR, already booked to open for Imagine Dragons at the amphitheater on July 8, will headline their own show.
Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band will not be performing at Summerfest's American Family Insurance Amphitheater July 6. Pop band AJR, already booked to open for Imagine Dragons at the amphitheater on July 8, will headline their own show.

In May, Buffett, 76, had announced a show in Charleston, South Carolina, with just a couple weeks' notice. But that show was postponed indefinitely after Buffett was hospitalized in Boston following a trip to the Bahamas. A new date for the singer's Charleston show has yet to be scheduled.

While Summerfest officials made a save-the-date announcement for the planned Buffett amphitheater show — including promotion in its brochures and on its website — tickets for the Wisconsin show had yet to go on sale.

In a statement on Facebook Tuesday, Summerfest officials said Buffett’s planned appearance was canceled "due to circumstances out of our control." Buffett himself has not commented on the scrapped Summerfest show through his social media channels. Earlier this month, he shared pictures and footage of a surprise bar performance, though the "Margaritaville" singer has still not announced any major concerts.

Buffett's cancellation is a major blow to Summerfest and will inevitably hurt attendance. It's also the latest case of the festival suffering a last-minute amphitheater cancellation.

Shows with Megadeth in 2019 and Justin Bieber in 2022 were canceled at the last minute due to health reasons, forcing the amphitheater to go dark those nights for the first time in the festival's history.

AJR performs at the American Family Insurance Amphitheater in Milwaukee on June 4, 2022.
AJR performs at the American Family Insurance Amphitheater in Milwaukee on June 4, 2022.

This year at least, Summerfest has a fill-in show for the amphitheater with AJR, who headlined the venue last year before Summerfest. AJR will still also open for Imagine Dragons at the amphitheater July 8 as previously planned.

'Issues that need immediate attention': Jimmy Buffett hospitalized, cancels concert

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Jimmy Buffett won't headline Summerfest, organizers say AJR to replace