Jimmy Buffett plays private Exit/In show, 50 years after his first gig at the iconic Nashville club

Before he gets back to playing the amphitheaters and arenas he's packed for decades later this summer, Jimmy Buffett paid a visit to one of the first stages he ever stepped on.

On Monday night, Buffett and his Coral Reefer Band played a private show at Nashville's Exit/In — 50 years after he helped open the iconic club.

As Exit/In co-founder Brugh Reynolds recalled, the club was under construction in the summer of 1971 when "this guy wanders in off the street."

"He said, 'Well, I play music,'" Reynolds said in a 2015 documentary for Uproxxx. "He went and got his guitar. I think he played a few things for us, and so Jimmy Buffett was the first act to ever play the Exit/In."

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A few months later, the then-fledgling Nashville-based country artist would take a fateful trip to Key West, and the rest is history. He's never lost touch with Music City, though — a fact underlined by Monday's guest list.

Country superstar Kenny Chesney joined him on stage, singing "Margaritaville" as well as "Back Where I Come From," which was written and originally recorded by Buffett's longtime bandmate and collaborator, Mac McAnally. After the show, Buffett came down to greet former Vice President Al Gore in the crowd.

Buffett will also be a big part of the club's just-announced 50th anniversary book, "Exit/In: 50 Years and Counting." He wrote the forward for the book, and his portrait and live photos from Monday's concert will be included. 

Opening on Elliston Place in 1971, the club also hosted early performances by Billy Joel, The Police, Tom Petty, R.E.M. and Steve Martin, and later became the heart of the city's burgeoning rock scene. 

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Its success helped cement the legend of Nashville's "Rock Block," a stretch of bars, shops and restaurants that was the city's countercultural hub for decades. 

Buffett and his band have been rehearsing in Nashville for their summer tour. They will return to town next month to play three shows at Ascend Amphitheater on July 6, 8 and 16. 

Last year, Buffett topped Billboard's Country Albums chart with his 30th studio album, "Life On the Flipside." In 2019, he opened a Margaritaville Hotel in downtown Nashville. "Exit/In: 50 Years And Counting" is available for pre-order at exitin.com