Country Singer Says Jimmy Buffett’s Ashes Were Smuggled Into His Rock Hall Tribute

Buffett’s Surprise Presence on Stage

Jimmy Buffett may have been posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but he still managed to get in on the fun. When his pals Kenny Chesney, James Taylor and Mac McAnally performed a tribute to Buffett at the induction ceremony in October 2024, he was there in spirit — and in McAnally’s pocket, as the musician smuggled the late star’s ashes on stage with him.

Chesney, 57, opened up about the sneaky moment on Howard Stern’s SiriusXM radio show on Tuesday, Dec. 2, revealing that McAnally was given some of Buffett’s ashes by his daughter Savannah. “We were backstage, we were sitting back there warming up, trying to figure out our parts and stuff, and Mac comes up to me and he goes, ‘Look at this.’ And it was a small urn,” Chesney recalled. “And he had Jimmy’s ashes in his coat pocket. So Jimmy’s ashes were in Mac McAnally’s coat pocket on stage with us as he was getting inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.”

A Tribute Among Friends

“So even after he passed, Jimmy found a way to join the party,” Chesney added. The country star performed Buffett’s 1974 tune “Come Monday” alongside Taylor, 77, and McAnally, 68, who is a longtime member of Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band. The trio played in front of a black-and-white throwback photo of the “Margaritaville” singer.

“We’re three old friends of Jimmy Buffett, and we miss him. This is a song of his that we like a lot,” said Taylor, who inducted the star in the Musical Excellence category. The moment showed how close the three musicians were with Buffett, and how they wanted his spirit to be part of the performance in a personal way.

Chesney Reflects on Friendship

Chesney also spoke to PEOPLE last month about his bond with Buffett, whom he first met by the pool at a Four Seasons Hotel. They later spent a Christmas together in Key West, something he recalled in his memoir Heart Life Music. “It’s surreal that you become friends with that person and collaborate with that person in the studio and have that person just really inspire you. And that’s what Jimmy was for me,” he told PEOPLE.

“You have people that create space for you to do your own thing, and Jimmy was one of those people.” Buffett, who died of skin cancer in September 2023 at age 76, left behind Jane, his wife of 46 years, and their daughters Savannah, 46, and Delaney, 33, and son Cameron, 31.

Carrying on His Influence

In March, Delaney opened up to PEOPLE about honoring her dad by including some of his songs in her directorial debut Adult Best Friends. “I always wanted to pay tribute to my dad in some way, even before [his death]. Just because of the influence that he’s had on my life and everything that he’s given to me. I just felt that I owed him at least that,” she said.

“And when he passed, I always was saying, ‘We should just have the jukebox at the bar always playing his music.’ And that was sort of a running joke and I knew he would love that.” She added that her father was “a very unique person” who “found a niche.” “If I can work as hard as he did and just make people happy in some capacity, then I feel like I will have done him proud,” she said.