Hong Kong Concert Raises $420,000 For Charity

The January 18th benefit concert in Hong Kong was a huge success, raising more than $420,000 for Hong Kong’s neediest children. The interest from Parrotheads in Asia was so great, that event organizers are apologizing that so many devoted fans couldn’t get tickets to the show:

As messages begging for tickets were left on Tom Crampton’s blog and strangers started tracking down Dave Garcia’s personal phone number, we understood our major miscalculation Jimmy Buffett’s appeal to devotees in Hong Kong, China, Thailand, the Philippines and beyond.

Truth is, we had no idea how big Jimmy’s first-ever appearance in Hong Kong would become. The concert outstripped all expectations, drawing fans from around Asia and we now realize that we could easily have sold 3,000 tickets instead of 650.

The article on Crampton’s blog goes on to explain Buffett’s generosity:

Buffett himself was confident of success from beginning. So confident, in fact, that he not only flew out with his band and gave the concert for free, but he also paid for the beer and tequila and donated the proceeds from the sales to the charity.

While visiting the orphanage during his visit, Jimmy led the kids in singing the Hokey Pokey and had such fun we actually had trouble getting him out.

At the concert, he played for more than two hours and added the song “Somewhere Over China” to the playlist for the first time in 14 years.

The good news for Buffett fans: Jimmy loved the fans, Hong Kong and the charity so much, he plans to return next year.

Read the entire blog post here. Also, read Fortune Magazine editor Clay Chandler’s article on the benefit: “Buffett (Jimmy, Not Warren) Rescues China.”