“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 ’80s, will premiere at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, Feb. 9, with a second screening Feb. 13.

Narrated by Academy Award winner and Santa Barbara resident Jeff Bridges, the documentary features commentary from Kenny Chesney, Mac McAnally, songwriter Keith Sykes, as well as 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,” according to organizers.

“Occupational Hazard” is directed by John H. Cunningham, who has a deep connection to several members of the first Coral Reefers, as well as to a lifelong affinity for Jimmy Buffett, as their paths crossed many times, beginning in the Florida Keys in the 1970s.

Fans and Parrot Heads can view the official trailer here.

“I first saw Jimmy and the Coral Reefers in 1977 and then moved to Key West shortly thereafter,” Cunningham said. “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,” he said.
 
“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,” said Ted Haynes, producer.

“We realized these weren’t just background players, they are rockstars in their own right,” Haynes said. “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,” Haynes said.

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.

“Occupational Hazard” captures the camaraderie, chaos, and magic of an era that thrived on freedom and lived without a rule book.

The 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.