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This is Trop Rock Thom with your Radio A1A Trop Rock Talk update. Happy Friday, island people… or at least happy Friday for me. If you’ve got the right mindset, every day can be a Friday.

Fall is here, and in some places the boats are coming out of the water, but the Trop Rock world is just getting louder.

Let’s start with the big news. The 19th annual Trop Rock Music Awards are set for Gulf Shores, Alabama, and it’s going to be a whopper. These awards, run by the Trop Rock Music Association, recognize songwriters, venues, radio stations, and even fans. Yep — there’s an award for us. If you’ve ever driven six hours for a Tuesday-night show, you’re basically a professional. You can join the association and vote even if you’re not currently a member. Head over to troprock.org and get involved.

If you missed Labor Day weekend this year, you missed one of the busiest stretches on the Trop Rock calendar I’ve seen in a while.

First up was Jimmy Buffett Day weekend. In Venice, Florida, the third annual Fins Up Forever tribute ran September 4th and 5th, with proceeds going to Reef Relief — a cause Jimmy cared about a lot.

Up the coast, the Forgotten Coast Parrothead Club threw a free festival across East Point, Apalachicola, St. George Island, and Carrabelle. Sixteen artists played more than eighty shows at nine venues. Eighty shows in one weekend. That’s not a festival — that’s a lifestyle. I was actually in Apalachicola about a month before it kicked off, grabbing a sandwich at The Hole in the Wall, and saw the flyer on the wall. Made me a little sad I couldn’t make it back, but I hope it was a great event.

A week later, the Biloxi Box Set — the eighth annual Beachfront Festival — ran September 10th through 12th. Stages right on the sand, and proceeds supported Gulf Coast veterans in honor of the 25th anniversary of 9/11. A music scene that throws a beach party and raises money for veterans? That’s a culture I want to be part of.

I’ve got a couple of questions for you. Did you know Jimmy Buffett’s final album, Equal Strain on All Parts, got its title from a phrase his grandfather used to describe a really good nap? Or that Paul McCartney actually played bass on one of the songs? “My Gummy Just Kicked In” was written about a dinner Jimmy and the McCartneys had together, and Sir Paul jumped in on the track. McCartney also said the vocals on “Bubbles Up” were probably the best he’d ever heard Jimmy sing. And here’s a fun fact: Bubbles Up came out on Sun Records — the same legendary label that first signed Elvis Presley. From one Mississippi kid to another. Pretty cool, pretty poetic. One more: after Jimmy passed, the single “Margaritaville” shot to number one on the U.S. iTunes chart. Decades later, people still reached for that song when they needed it.

The tribute circuit is thriving. You can find a Buffett tribute band in practically every state fair and theater lineup this year. The granddaddy of them all is A1A — formed in 1991 and the only tribute show ever officially endorsed by Jimmy himself. They were also the first band to play his annual Parrothead Convention and Meeting of the Minds.

Of course the Trop Rock community has its own stars. At that Venice show, one of the players was Sonny Jim — billed as a 15-time Trop Rock Award winner. Fifteen! That’s a trophy shelf with its own zip code.

My advice? Don’t just go see the tribute shows. Go see the original songwriters who open for them. That’s where you’ll find your next favorite artist.

Since we mentioned Margaritaville, let’s talk about the empire that keeps expanding. Rumor has it a new Margaritaville resort is planned for Newport, Kentucky — right across the Ohio River from Cincinnati — with 264 rooms, three restaurants, and a rooftop pool, aiming for 2026. Double-check the current status before you book, but a Margaritaville with a skyline view of Cincinnati sounds pretty great for a landlocked Parrothead. Looking further out, an all-inclusive Margaritaville resort in Roatán, Honduras is set for fall 2027, and in Orlando a new Margaritaville vacation-club community with 151 suites is planned for 2027. Options are stacking up.

By the way, the Trop Rock Music Association defines this genre as a blend of rock and roll, country, Caribbean, reggae, and other styles that creates a laid-back, escapist state of mind. I love that word — escapist. That’s the whole point.

Did you know Jimmy was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2024 and recorded more than 50 albums? And you can find Trop Rock far from any ocean. There’s a whole festival scene in the mountains — like Trop Rock in the Mountains in West Jefferson, North Carolina, held in August at a winery. Proof that you don’t need salt water. You just need a good attitude and maybe a parrot hat.

Here’s your homework before we chat again:
Check out the TRMA awards and see who was nominated and who won.
Pick an artist you’ve never heard of and stream their record start to finish.
Plan a trip — even a small one. A lake, a marina, a back-porch show… it doesn’t matter.
And finally, tell me what you’re listening to. Send me your favorite Trop Rock song of this year and I’ll read some of the best ones out sometime.

That’s all for now. Thanks for listening and tuning in. This is Trop Rock Thom, and I’ll talk to you soon.