Union Pool will host a benefit concert tonight for the children of Colin Devlin, the award-winning Brooklyn restaurateur who committed suicide last month.
The bands Eastern Hollows, Dead Stars and American Darlings will perform at the benefit, which opens at 6 pm, with musicians hitting the stage at 9 pm.
The funds raised will go to the college funds of Ludivine and Cole, the children of Colin Devlin, who police say shot himself on the side of a Pennsylvania road on July 25.
Devlin was the owner of the popular restaurants DuMont, DuMont Burger and the recently-shuttered Dressler. Media outlets have speculated that money woes led Devlin to take his own life, but his friends and family have refused to comment.
John Watterberg, the bassist for Dead Stars, organized the benefit. He and Devlin were acquaintances, but his wife, Melissa Klein, is a manager at DuMont.
“No one saw it coming,” said Watterberg. “Everyone is still reeling and everyone is numb.”
Watterberg encouraged Williamsburg businesses to donate goods and services for organizers to raffle them off before the show and in between bands. Businesses that contributed include Egg, Nitehawk Cinema and Rosarito Fish Shack.
Volunteers say the benefit shows that Brooklyn is really a tight-knit community in a big city.
“It’s nice to know we are a small-town-like community and family of artists and creative minds that bond together through thick and thin,” said Jason Maksymilian, guitar player and singer for the American Darlings.
Colin Devlin Family Benefit at Union Pool [484 Union Ave., between Conselyea Street and Meeker Avenue in Williamsburg, union-pool.com/calendar] Aug. 16, 6 pm.
Reach reporter Danielle Furfaro at dfurfaro@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260-2511. Follow her at twitter.com/DanielleFurfaro.
