Reviewed by: Pat Byington
Jimmy Buffett exhibit opens Sept. 12 at Mobile’s maritime museum: How to get tickets
Reading time: 4 minutes
Construction has officially started on a 6,000-square-foot exhibit honoring Jimmy Buffett inside the National Maritime Museum of the Gulf. The Jimmy Buffett Son of a Son of a Sailor Experience opens Saturday, Sept. 12, from 10AM to 4PM.
The exhibit has been nearly two years in the making, built on interviews with Buffett’s family, friends, musicians, business partners, photographers and artists.
What’s coming to the Jimmy Buffett exhibit at National Maritime Museum of the Gulf
The exhibit is organized into four galleries that trace Buffett’s life from his Gulf Coast roots to his lasting cultural footprint:
- A Sailor’s Roots — Buffett’s maritime heritage + the Gulf Coast that shaped him
- Songs That Sailed the World — The music, stories + lyrics behind his catalog
- A Way of Life — Buffett as entrepreneur, adventurer + entertainer
- We Are the People Our Parents Warned Us About — A Parrot Head confessional + interactive world map connecting fans globally
More than 130 artifacts will be on display, including:
- Buffett’s first performance contract
- Handwritten notes
- Family photos
- Guitars
- Platinum records
- One of his fishing rods
- His shark-fin tailcoat
One of the coolest things that will be in the exhibit: A model of his grandfather’s schooner, the Chiquimula, which inspired the “Son of a Son of a Sailor” song.
A 180-degree screen will create an immersive concert experience, and a children’s section will be based on “Jolly Mon,” the book Buffett wrote with his daughter. A statue of Buffett is also planned for the waterfront just outside the museum.
Why Mobile is home to the Son of a Son of a Sailor Experience
Mobile and the surrounding Gulf Coast are where Buffett spent his formative years, and where three generations of his family called home. His grandfather captained brigantine sailing vessels between Mobile Bay, Havana and beyond
Organizers say Buffett’s maritime upbringing organizers shaped his love of the ocean, work ethic and sense of humor.
“The reason we chose that is because of Jimmy’s Mobile heritage and his grandfather, who was a sailor, who was a captain, and that’s where the song came from, Son of a Son of a Sailor.”
National Maritime Museum of the Gulf Executive Director Karen Poth
The National Maritime Museum of the Gulf, which bills itself as the only museum in the world dedicated to the history and traditions of the Gulf, already features more than 80 immersive exhibits. The Buffett exhibit sits on the waterfront near the Mobile Convention Center and Cooper Riverside Park.
Parrot Head Clubs around the world — including the Mobile Bay Parrot Head Club — are helping fund the exhibit through a fundraising effort tied to its “We Are the People Our Parents Warned Us About” gallery.
How the museum team is bringing Jimmy Buffett’s story to life
Museum staff working on the exhibit describe it as far more than walls and exhibit cases going up:
“We wondered if we could create something that felt authentic. Something that captured Jimmy’s spirit. Something that made visitors feel less like they were walking through a museum and more like they were spending an afternoon with an old friend.”
Update via National Maritime Museum of the Gulf website
The team says the exhibit will keep evolving even after it opens, as more photos, artifacts and stories from people who knew Buffett continue to surface.
Jimmy Buffett exhibit hours, tickets + opening date
The Son of a Son of a Sailor Experience opens Saturday, Sept. 12, at the National Maritime Museum of the Gulf.
Museum hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 10AM-4PM (closed Monday and Tuesday), and general admission — which includes both the Buffett exhibit and the rest of the museum — is $19 for adults.
