The first Bubba Look-Alike Showdown, presented by Hogfish Bar & Grill, will take over the 200 block of Duval Street on Friday, Sept. 4, before Gary Roland and the Landsharks return to recreate the spirit of the 1998 Meeting of the Minds street concert, when Jimmy Buffett surprised the crowd.
The free outdoor celebration will run on Friday, Sept. 4 from 5:30 to 9 p.m. in the 200 block of Duval Street.
The events are not affiliated with or endorsed by Jimmy Buffett’s estate or Margaritaville Enterprises.
The Bubba Look-Alike Showdown was inspired by Hogfish Bar & Grill founder Bobby Mongelli, whose friendship with Buffett began more than 35 years ago.
Mongelli first entered Buffett’s Key West circle through Sunshine Smith, J.L. Jamison and the musicians working at Shrimp Boat Sound. The friendship continued through the late-night years at PT’s restaurant and, later, over seafood lunches at the picnic tables beside the shrimp boats at Hogfish.
Key West’s Hemingway Look-Alike Contest inspired Mongelli to consider how that tradition has introduced new generations to Ernest Hemingway and to the island he loved. Mongelli believes a Jimmy Buffett look-alike event can do something similar by celebrating the many versions of the musician people remember.
Contestants may portray any age or era: the young musician who arrived in Key West in the early 1970; the mustached pirate with a guitar; the barefoot island storyteller or the older troubadour who quietly returned to town, climbed onto his rusty red bicycle and revisited his old haunts.
Mongelli hopes the showdown will grow into an annual Key West tradition celebrating the music, personality and sense of place Buffett shared with the world.
Local Buffett impersonator Caleb Hogan, creator of the daily tribute and cheeseburger show, “A Pirate’s Look Back,” will open the program at about 5:30 p.m. and serve as emcee for the showdown, which begins at 6:30 p.m.
Each contestant will introduce himself, pick up the guitar provided onstage and perform lip sync to a randomly selected Buffett song. A panel of local judges, including Mongelli, will narrow the field to three finalists before the Duval Street audience takes over and chooses the winner through live QR-code voting.
The first official Bubba will leave Duval Street with the Golden Coconut Trophy, ultimate festival bragging rights and a $1,000 cash prize. Register at justafewfriendskeywest.com.
Following the Look-Alike Showdown, Roland and the Landsharks will headline an evening concert honoring a night that connected the band to Buffett and the Parrot Head world.
During the 1998 Meeting of the Minds convention in Key West, rumors traveled through Key West that “Jimmy’s in town.” That year, the whispers were true.
Buffett made a surprise appearance during the Landsharks’ Duval Street concert and turned the street into an enormous Key West sing-along. He famously told the crowd, “I told you I was here.”
Nearly three decades later, Roland and the Landsharks will return to the Duval Street stage to recreate the energy and spirit of that performance. Roland will also be joined by surprise guests. Admission is free, standing only.
More information is at justafewfriendskeywest.com.
