Love was “In the Air Tonight” on Valentine’s Day — just not the candlelit, chocolate-box kind.
More than 100 people packed Greenpoint’s Berry Park on Feb. 14 for the 2026 edition of Phil Collins Day, a February tradition that blends irony, fandom and fundraising.
This year’s event raised funds for Education Through Music, a nonprofit organization that provides curriculum-based music education to under-resourced New York City public schools.
A growing Brooklyn tradition
The annual celebration, now in its 15th year, honors the catalog of Phil Collins and traces its roots to a tongue-in-cheek “anti-Valentine’s Day” gathering in Greenpoint. Organizers told Brooklyn Paper the event has grown steadily since its revival in 2019.
“The whole idea of Phil Collins day started as an anti-Valentine’s Day event where folkkswere just fed up with the sharing of heart-shaped boxes of chocolates, stuffed animals, bouquets and cards,” organizer Dave Landesberg said. “And in that moment [organizers] thought, ‘who embodies that spirit?’ They then came upon [Collins] because he covers both heartbreak and love in his music.”
Landesberg said that when he took over in 2019 with his partner, Megan Scanlon, only 80 people attended. This year’s event drew nearly 130 attendees from across the country — including Pennsylvania, California, Texas, Florida and Nevada — as well as international visitors from Brussels and Christchurch, New Zealand. One fan told Landsberg she traveled to Brooklyn specifically for Phil Collins Day.
“I was floored,” he said.
Programming included a vinyl-only DJ set featuring Collins’ solo work and songs from Genesis by Sheila Burgel, themed art displayed in a gallery dubbed “Philustrations” and an air-drumming contest timed to the drum solo from “In the Air Tonight.”
The event has also become increasingly multigenerational, Landesberg said.
“I’m a little older than the average age of the folks who attend,” he added. “It’s really great to see so many different people.”
For the first time in event history, organizers charged a $20 admission fee, contributing to what Landenberg said was the most successful fundraising year to date.
“We raised more money this year than any other year, no doubt,” he said, through presale and walkup ticket sales, raffle proceeds and art sales.
Despite its growth, Landesberg said he remains mindful of the event’s grassroots origins.
“I can’t say it’s taken on a life of its own. It wouldn’t be that bold,” he said. “But I know these folks look forward to it.”
Supporting music in public schools
Education Through Music, this year’s beneficiary, partners with Title I schools across the five boroughs to build sustainable music programs by placing certified teachers directly into schools.
“We’ve been in New York City for 34 years,” Tara DeWorsop, the organization’s senior director of development, said. “We work with 51 schools across the city, teaching over 18,000 students every year.”
Unlike short-term arts residencies, the nonprofit helps schools establish permanent music departments, funding a majority of a teacher’s salary for the first two to three years while schools build their own budgets.
“We actually work with schools that otherwise couldn’t afford music education, and we work with our principals. We help source the actual music teachers,” DeWorsop added.
DeWorsop cited Education Through Music CEO Dr. Janice Weinman’s words: “Talent is distributed evenly across all of the boroughs of New York City, but opportunity isn’t.”
She said the statement guides the organization’s mission and expressed enthusiasm that Phil Collins Day could help support its efforts.
Hosted by a ‘Mom and Mom shop’
Berry Park in Greenpoint hosted the event for the second consecutive year.
Jessie Marlee, who took over ownership of the bar in 2024 with her business partner after serving as general manager for more than a decade, said the event reflects their approach to community programming.
“Anything that really brings people together in this space to have fun and whatever that falls under, that kind of umbrella is something that we’re jazzed to do,” she said.
Marlee described Berry Park as a “mom and mom shop,” run by two Brooklyn mothers.
As for her own connection to Collins, she recalled a teenage memory.
“My dad used to pick me up when my friends and blast the ‘Tarzan’ soundtrack to embarrass me when I was in high school,” she said. “Which was successful.”
Phil Collins Day organizers plan to continue the February tradition while exploring the possibility of smaller gatherings throughout the year, as fans increasingly request more opportunities to connect outside Valentine’s Day.
