With thousands of Parrot Heads descending on the Alabama Gulf Coast for the Meeting of the Minds, we looked to a local expert to learn more about what to expect and who to see.
Brent Burns has …
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With thousands of Parrot Heads descending on the Alabama Gulf Coast for the Meeting of the Minds, we looked to a local expert to learn more about what to expect and who to see.
Brent Burns has spent his entire adult life living the life most people dream about: doing what he loves and making a living. In Burns’ case, that means writing and performing music. His journey has taken him around the world, made national and world news and won awards. The genre of music he is plugged into is called trop rock.
You have heard it and enjoyed it but, maybe didn’t know it was called trop rock. The late Jimmy Buffett is considered the “Pop of Trop Rock.” Some other artists you may know that are considered to live in this genre are Jack Johnson, Zac Brown Band, Alan Jackson and Kenny Chesney.
Now, he’s among the array of acts, conference events, workshops and musicians taking part in the first Music of the Minds on the Alabama Gulf Coast after it got moved from Key West to Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and Fort Morgan after 30 years.
Burns said he got involved in the Parrot Head world about 25 years ago when he moved to the Alabama Gulf Coast. He decided he would write about what he knew, and that was living at the beach. He recorded his first beach-themed CD in 1998, which included the songs, “If It’s Snowbird Season Why Can’t We Shoot ’em?” and “Livin’ The Life (Jimmy Buffett Only Wrote About).”
Through a series of contacts, he got plugged into the Parrot Heads and began playing festivals. He performed at his first Meeting of the Minds around 2000 in Key West and he has been to every one since.
“It is a big deal for the Parrot Heads,” Burns said. “It is a once-a-year thing. There are all kinds of satellite festivals going on all the time and house concerts. Meeting of the Minds is a big deal and the mothership of all festivals for us.”
Burns, the Musical Ambassador for the Gulf Coast of Alabama, is excited to see the festival come to his town this year.
“It is fantastic for many reasons,” he said. “I love this town; I love Alabama and our beaches. I just think a lot of people didn’t know about us and what a beautiful city we live in. I think they are going to be very impressed.”
In his eyes, the move to the Alabama Gulf Coast makes the festival more accessible to more people.
“Geographically we are close to a lot of people. They don’t have to fly because they can drive from Texas,” Burns said. “I have friends here that drove from Arizona. It is a lot closer and easier to get to than Key West, the food is less expensive, and the people are awfully nice here. In Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, the lifestyle is fantastic, and I am thrilled to have them here to show off my town.”
Throughout the weeklong Meeting of the Minds, which started in full force today, Burns will be performing mostly at LuLu’s, a place he is quite familiar with as he has been a regular performer for 20 years.
“Lucy was in there yesterday, and I just love that lady and that whole family,” Burns said of the late Buffett’s sister and namesake of the Gulf Shores restaurant. “They are wonderful people, and they treat their people like family. They have been through a lot of tragedy lately, but they are holding their heads up.”
Tips for First-Timers
Burns has been attending Meeting of the Minds for over 20 years, so we asked him what first-timers can expect and who they should make a point to see.
“It is a fun group,” Burns said. “You can expect people dressed in sometimes funny-looking hats and flowered shirts. It’s like a carnival atmosphere for Parrot Heads and those who like all things tropical and Jimmy Buffett.”
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When asked what the most enjoyable part of the Meeting of the Minds is for him, Burns was quick to answer.
“That is an easy one: the people,” he said. “They love music, and they love original music a lot. They don’t just want cover music. They love original, artistic music by people who write the songs. They are supportive of me and all these performers, they come out, they visit, they spend their money and go to the shows. They listen, are enthusiastic and party with a purpose. The saying is party with a purpose and the purpose is to have fun but raise money to help others. I think that is a pretty noble endeavor.”
