Great Escape

Stan Culture Is Alive and Well on Long Island

A photographer infiltrates a Jimmy Buffett Parrothead tailgate party

A Pomeranian dresses up as a shark, and other scenes from the Jimmy Buffet concert; Long Island, New York, August 2, 2018. All photos by Amy Lombard. Photo editing by Michelle Le.

It’s about 2:00 on a Thursday afternoon. By normal standards, all the busybodies and pencil pushers on Long Island are at their nine-to-five jobs. On Jones Beach, it’s a different scenario. The Parrotheads—diehard fans of the musician Jimmy Buffett and his “island escapism” lifestyle—have descended upon Jones Beach. They’ve flocked to the parking lots. And they’re here to party.

The booze-fueled scene is not unlike spring break. School buses have been rigged to accommodate bars and provide makeshift rooftops. Cover bands play in the beds of pickup trucks. Moms and daughters are zipping around on beer coolers that have been transformed into scooters. There are even parrots that sing Jimmy Buffett songs.

“Everyone on Long Island knows Jimmy Buffett. It’s a culture,” Alyssa Sinacori explains.