Jimmy Buffett surprises crowd at Hamptons music festival

Jimmy Buffett, a longtime North Haven resident who frequently drops in to guest star on other musicians' East End gigs, surprised the crowd at the one-day Palm Tree Music Festival in Westhampton Beach Saturday, performing a "Margaritaville" singalong during DJ Kygo's set.

"Fun Saturday night onstage with Kygo — thanks @palmtreefestival @kygomusic," Buffett, 75, wrote on Instagram and Facebook the next day, posting a photo of himself playing acoustic guitar onstage, with DJ and Norwegian electronic dance music (EDM) producer Kygo, 30, nearby on a raised tier.

On his own social media, Kygo, né Kyrre Gørvell-Dahll, posted a different image of Buffett onstage at the event at Francis S. Gabreski Airport. He additionally posted a video clip of Buffett's performance on Instagram Stories, where posts cycle out after 24 hours. At least one fan site posted different video snippets of Buffett performing his 1977 Grammy Hall of Fame hit.

The festival also featured singer-songwriter Leah Haywood; the EDM duo Forester; DJ and singer Thomas Jack; the masked DJ Claptone; and the DJ brother duo Disclosure, with Kygo — a founder of the lifestyle brand Palm Tree Crew, the traveling festival's production company — as the day's final act.

Buffett is a familiar and welcome figure at East End venues and events.

Among the more recent examples, he joined Lukas Nelson, son of country-music icon Willie Nelson, onstage at Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett in August 2019. The following year, he was a guest of Willie Nelson's at The Surf Lodge in Montauk, where in 2017 he had jammed with Commack-raised Montauk resident Nancy Atlas and her longtime East End band, The Nancy Atlas Project.

Buffett and his Coral Reefer Band will be at Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh on Aug. 9 for their annual summer show.