One of Will Kimbrough’s favorite observations about music came from Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters, who once said, “I sing a song to 75,000 people for one reason, and they sing it back to me for 75,000 different reasons.”
It’s a comment that has stuck with Kimbrough, a singer/songwriter who spent more than 20 years co-writing songs and collaborating with Jimmy Buffett while also writing, recording and performing his own folk and Americana-style music in and around Nashville for decades.
Kimbrough has been considered a 21st-century Coral Reefer, as Buffett’s bandmates have long been called.
“Songs become a part of so many people’s own stories, and there’s no denying that so many of Jimmy Buffett’s songs have become such a part of so many lives, personal stories and memories for more than five decades,” said Kimbrough, who will perform during the free Party in the Park outdoor concert on Sunday, Sept. 1 at Truman Waterfront Park.
Kimbrough co-wrote “Bubbles Up” with Buffett, and the song became the Key West legend’s first posthumous hit after his death on Sept. 1, 2023 from skin cancer.
“It’s a serene, wistful song of encouragement powered by an inspired metaphor — the advice scuba divers are given to follow their stream of bubbles to find the surface when they get disoriented,” wrote Craig Havighurst in a January article for WMOT. “The song arrived in September with an endorsement by none other than Paul McCartney, who wrote, ‘I told (Buffett) that not only was the song great, but the vocal was probably the best I’ve heard him sing ever.’”
Kimbrough said he feels honored to be able to continue the tradition of Buffett’s music and storytelling style.
“The Sept. 1 show will be me performing an acoustic set, which I can’t wait for, because it’ll give me an opportunity to tell stories about working with Jimmy, and sing these songs. Jimmy was one of the least melancholy people I’ve ever met. His whole art was about taking joy in how flawed we all are — sort of like, we’re all crazy, but ain’t life grand. And he was like that up until the very end, and even then, Jimmy, with the blessing of his family, told the Coral Reefers, which has truly been a family for decades, he told them to keep the party going. He really set an example for how to leave this world and still keep making people happy.”
Kimbrough recalled to the Keys Weekly how a songwriting collaboration session with Buffett typically would begin.
“I’d often get a call, email or text message, and Jimmy would ask, ‘Are you ready for some homework?’ Of course, I was always ready, and he’d send me some lyrics, thoughts, even sketches sometimes.”
And Kimbrough would fiddle around with chords, melodies and more lyrics and the pair would go back and forth for weeks. Kimbrough said he can’t wait to do his part to keep the party going in Key West.
For a full lineup of events for the Just a Few Friends Jimmy Buffeett tribute weekend in Key West, visit justafewfriendskeywest.com/.
