Kenny Chesney and Dave Matthews pay tribute to Jimmy Buffett

Dave Matthews, Kenny Chesney, James Taylor and Mac McAnally paid tribute to Jimmy Buffett as the late singer-songwriter was among the recipients of the Musical Excellence Award at the 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland.

Matthews – whose band was inducted into the Rock Hall as part of the Class of 2024 – delivered a rendition of “A Pirate Looks at Forty,” which DMB had previously performed in concert shortly after Buffett's death in September 2023.

The singer also performed the cover in December 2023 when he stopped by The Howard Stern Show. Following the news of Buffett's death, Matthews shared a message honoring the late singer on the band's website: “Whether planned or coincidental, every time I met Jimmy it was like meeting an old friend. He was brilliant and a truly good and generous man. We didn't know each other that well. We weren't old friends, but that's how I felt around him. He is loved by so many because he made us all feel that way. It would be nice to meet him again.”

After Matthews' performance, Chesney, Taylor and McAnally took the stage. “We're old friends and we miss him,” Taylor said before the trio began playing Buffett's “Come Monday.”