VIA PRESS RELEASE | “I first saw Jimmy and the Coral Reefers in 1977 and then moved to Key West shortly thereafter. Having known many of the first Reefers for several years, I felt the band’s origin story needed to be preserved. Once we started the interviews, their collective sentiments about life in the ’70s, their time on the road, in the studio and their feelings about Jimmy, I knew we had captured lightning in a bottle. My goal in making the film was to help preserve the band’s origin story, capture the essence of that era and pay tribute to how Key West had permeated their souls.” —John H. Cunningham, Director
Occupational Hazard: The First Coral Reefers, a feature documentary that traces the origins and evolution of Jimmy Buffett’s original Coral Reefer Band during the 1970s and early 1980s, will premiere at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on February 9th, with a second screening on February 13th. Narrated by Academy Award winner Jeff Bridges, the documentary features commentary from Kenny Chesney, Mac McAnally, songwriter Keith Sykes as well as many original Coral Reefer band members and touring crew.
The First Coral Reefers were a group of wildly talented, often unruly characters whose creative energy and personal chemistry helped define Buffett’s most iconic early work. Occupational Hazard is directed by John H. Cunningham, who has a deep and close connection to several members of the first Coral Reefers as well as to a lifelong affinity to Jimmy Buffett, as their paths crossed many times, beginning in the Florida Keys in the 1970s.
“When we began this project, I was a fan. But as we uncovered more about the people who shaped the original Coral Reefer Band, and how little of their story had ever been told, it became clear this wasn’t just a music documentary. We realized these weren’t just background players, they are rockstars in their own right. As stewards of the stories we could tell, we felt a responsibility to share the grit and heart it took to help build something that would go on to reshape American music. These were pioneers, full of wild talent and mad genius, who built something lasting. We felt a responsibility to get it right. Occupational Hazard dives deeper than the songs you know by heart to reveal the real people and raw beginnings behind a phenomenon.” —Ted Haynes, Producer
Set largely in Key West, a place the bandmates describe as having its own rhythm and creative spark, Occupational Hazard delves into how this laid-back island community shaped not only the music but the mindset of the early Coral Reefers. Through rare, never-before-seen archival footage and deeply personal interviews with founding members, tour managers, producers and music legends, Occupational Hazard captures the camaraderie, chaos, and magic of an era that thrived on freedom and lived without a rulebook.
From dusty road gigs and dive-bar rehearsals to the first big studio albums, the documentary details how this group crafted a sound and built a touring family—until the hard-partying lifestyle, dubbed the “heavy artillery years,” began to take its toll. Drug use led to burnout, and tragedy crept in, but Buffett’s desire to succeed resulted in a near-total transformation of the band on his road to becoming one of the most successful musicians of our generation.
This film is a tribute to Buffett and the original Coral Reefers, the places and people that shaped them, the volatile beauty of a musical moment that couldn’t last but changed everything and their candid sentiment toward Buffett. It’s the origin story upon which the Parrot Head empire was built upon, by the people who helped lay the foundation.
