By the Caribbean Journal staff

It isn’t often that Jimmy Buffett plays a concert in the Caribbean — much less a free one.

But that’s exactly what happened this week, when Buffett, a longtime friend of St Barth, came to the harbor in Gustavia to play a free set to help support the island’s recovery from Hurricane Irma.

And while locals in St Barth formed the majority of the audience, a small part of the crowd actually made the journey from neighboring Anguilla.

Anguilla’s Frangipani Hotel chartered a boat to shepherd hotel guests from Anguilla to Buffett’s concert, looking to say thank you to their guests for supporting them in their own post-Irma recovery process.

“Our guests’ support has meant the world to us, and we know how powerful tourism is to helping local economies recover,” said Scott Kircher, general manager of Frangipani. “We wanted to share some of that love and support with our neighbors in St. Barth and when we heard Jimmy Buffett was playing a concert in Gustavia, we knew we had to make it happen.”

The concert itself was intimate for a Buffett performance, with a few hundred guests, including onlookers on a number of yachts (along with a Paul McCartney sighting).

“This was by far the most intimate setting that anyone had ever experienced for a concert like this, which made it a very unique and memorable experience. It was outdoors, under the stars, on a beautiful night in St Barth,” said Shannon Kircher, the hotel’s marketing manager.

Buffett played for a little over an hour, according to Kircher, including favorites like “Margaritaville” and “5 O’clock Somewhere.”

“Seeing Jimmy Buffett in St. Barth was an awesome and unexpected surprise this year! There was no way we were going to skip supporting Anguilla after the hurricane, and we’re so glad to be a part of this special community,” said Gregg and Michelle Schwartz, a pair of guests who made the island hop to see Buffett. “This is what the Frangipani experience is about for us and what keeps us coming back year after year.”