On October 22, the Gulf Shores area will magically transform into a giant Margaritaville.
The annual meeting of Jimmy Buffett-remembering Parrot Heads will be in Gulf Shores October 22-26.
It’s the 33rd annual national meeting of the lovers of all things Buffett. The name of the event is “Meeting of the Minds.”
The word “minds” does not cover all the things that will be meeting – Buffett’s large music portfolio, Parrot Head attire, Margaritas and other tropical drinks, the musicians that played alongside Buffett since the early 70s, Cheeseburgers in Paradise and other Buffett food.
Attendees all love the trop rock music of the late great singer/songwriter Jimmy Buffett, who died two years ago – September 1, 2023.
Attendees are all members of local Parrot Head clubs across the nation. If someone wants to register and come, they must do so by midnight on September 15. A registrant must be a member of a Parrot Head Club. If they are not an official Parrot Head member, they can quickly fix that. They can instantly join the Virtual Parrot Head Club. Meeting of the Minds
It’s a sign of modern high-tech times that there would be such a thing as a Virtual Parrot Head Club.
Basic registration fee for the event is $229. Venues for the entertainment are all over the Alabama Gulf Coast. Updated venues will be posted at Meeting of the Minds
Artists playing at MOTM 2025 will include: Joe Downing, Jerry Diaz, El Wencho, Brooke Graham, Wheeland Brothers, Jim Hoehn, Bill Whyte, Mick Fury, Wes Loper, Donny Brewer, Don Middlebrook, Heather Vidal, Eric Erdman, Kristie Bobal, Darby Ledbetter, Homemade Wine, Bryton Stoll, Jim Mayer, Bob Durand, Steve Hopper, and others to be added.
Meeting of the Minds, acronymed as MOTM, was previously hosted in New Orleans and Key West. Now, it’s new permanent home is Gulf Shores, Alabama.
Why Gulf Shores? And why Alabama?
Jimmy Buffett was born in nearby Pascagoula, Mississippi but was there only as a toddler-plus. He and family moved 30 miles east to Mobile, Alabama.
Buffett grew up in Mobile and attended McGill High School, now McGill-Toolen. He played trombone in the McGill band, which was the inauspicious start of his musical interest. He was a cheerleader at McGill.
Fast forward years later. Buffett had not done well as a short-time student at Auburn University, but he learned to play guitar there. That was a valuable education.
Buffett started his pro career playing and singing at the corner bar in the historic Admiral Semmes Hotel on Government Street in downtown Mobile. The name of the bar was The Admiral’s Corner. He did some early recording at a shack of a studio in Daphne, Alabama, across Mobile Bay in Baldwin County.
While early Buffett had Nashville, New Orleans and Key West, always Mobile and Alabama were home. His parents retired to Baldwin County and lived out their sunset years there, where they are buried.
Buffett’s business sister, Lucy Buffett, has a popular restaurant in Gulf Shores, Lulu’s. Of course, she serves a Cheeseburger in Paradise. You can expect Lulu’s to be full to overflowing during MOTM’s four days in Gulf Shores.
Bars in the Gulf Shores area are stocking up on ingredients for Margaritas. Restaurants are stocking up on ingredients for Cheeseburgers in Paradise – the Buffett song gives the recipe:
I like mine with lettuce and tomato
Heinz 57 and French-fried potatoes
Big kosher pickle and a cold draft beer
Well, good God almighty which way do I steer? for my
Cheeseburger in paradise.
On October 22-26, steer toward Gulf Shores, Alabama.
Jim Zig Zeigler is a contributing writer for Yellowhammer News. His beat includes the positive and colorful about Alabama – her people, events, groups and prominent deaths. He is a former State Auditor and Public Service Commissioner. You can reach him at ZeiglerElderCare@yahoo.com
