Brooklynites showed their groovy kind of love for Phil Collins on Saturday by packing a Greenpoint bar to celebrate the annual tribute to the legendary British drummer and singer.
Screens at Berry Park displayed a compilation of Collins’ performances, appearances, and career highlights as a DJ spun vinyl records of his solo hits and classic Genesis tracks as fans danced with cutouts of the pint-sized crooner.
The tradition began in 2011 when local artist Heather Kramer organized a parade down Greenpoint’s Franklin Street as an alternative to Valentine’s Day celebrations on Feb. 15, with Collins’ melancholic music serving as the perfect antidote to the sentimental holiday’s excess mush.
The concept was later revived in 2020 by Phil Collins enthusiast Dave Landesberg and a group of friends.
“There used to be a guy who would drive around Greenpoint blasting ‘In the Air Tonight’ out the windows,” Landesberg recalled. “At a similar time in 2011, a local artist wanted to create an anti-Valentine’s Day event, and who better to represent that spirit of independence and heartbreak than Phil Collins? She and her friends created a parade.”
Landesberg, who describes the event as a day of goof and reverence, first connected with Saturday’s co-host, Megan Scanlon, in 2023. The pair now have three Phil Collins Day celebrations under their belt and thanks to their efforts, Feb. 15 has become “Another Day in Paradise” for fans in Brooklyn.
“For my 40th birthday, a friend of mine who’s here tonight told me there was such a thing as Phil Collins Day and I was like, what, so I was trying to track down the organizers to see if I could get involved and I finally got in touch with Dave,” Scanlon said, who loves that Collins’ music is “heavy but he is so funny and light as well.”
“When I saw him live for the first time in 2019 at Madison Square Garden, I wept but also danced like I was at a rave,” she added. “I realized I’d listened to Phil Collins after every breakup. I grew up with him; his music connected me to my older sisters and my family.”
This year, the event featured “Phillustrations,” a collection of art created by volunteers, adorning the venue’s walls. Proceeds from a raffle also benefited the Brooklyn Music School, with students performing on drums in honor of Collins’ legacy.
“All of our ideas come from the two of us and we’re really interested in broadening our volunteers and participation,” said Landesberg. “People are inspired by Phil Collins, they really are and the fanship is real. This year we had people reaching out to us being like, ‘Can we be involved?’”
Among the fandom in attendance on Saturday night were Bushwick couple Jonathan Bardo and Yauny Wheaton, who named their dog after the singer and had Collins’ “Take Me Home” play as the last dance at their wedding.
“My first concert ever was 1986 at MSG, or ’88, Genesis Invisible Touch tour, and I was 8 years old,” Bardo said. “We were coming up with names for our dog even before we had her and we were like, ‘We should give her a tough rock and roll name like Stevie Nicks or Jimi Hendrix,’ and we were like, ‘What about Phil Collins?’”
For others, the celebration was a happy accident. Sue Ritzman, visiting from Dallas, Texas, said she and her husband stumbled upon the event.
“We didn’t even know about it. We just came to the bar and were like, ‘Oh my god, Phil Collins!’ We love him. It was a pleasant surprise,” Ritzman said. “We should be doing this in Dallas.”
As the night wrapped up, Bardo summed up the sentiment of many attendees: “Put Phil in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next year.”
