Imagine you are at church. Roughly 300 people are sitting inside. You are all tuned into the same thing, the preacher, and you feel at home. This is where you want to be, and if you don’t want to be there you don’t have to be. Now imagine instead of a church, it is a field in the middle of nowhere at 3 am. And instead of a preacher, it is a DJ, or DJs, and a giant stage.
By definition, a silent disco is a group of people at a concert where everyone has headphones on and that is the only source of music. No speakers. Usually including 2-3 DJs on stage and the ability to switch between “channels” that each DJ is playing on on your headphones.
When you walk up to a silent disco, you go through a line and grab a pair of light-up headphones with the option of switching between three colors, or channels, that each DJ is playing on. You walk towards the stage and see a bunch of people dancing and going crazy. All to the same music, the same rhythm, singing the same lyrics, but there is no audible music. It’s as if everyone was dancing to nothing. It looks a little funny, and you may feel a little out of place, until you put on the headphones. All of a sudden are in another world. There is nothing but the music and the community of people dancing all tuned into the same thing you are. It is a magical experience and it’s definitely one of my favorite places to check out at a festival. Usually there are more “underground” artists there playing late at night after the main concerts, but some of the main artists will definitely make appearances as well. This year at Imagine, 12th Planet came out and played for a little bit late Saturday night.
The silent disco at Imagine Festival went until about 7 am every morning. It is great since people are only at a music festival for about three days, so you have to spend as much time awake as possible to enjoy the wonderland that is a music festival. One of my good friends, Black Carl from Birmingham, AL, played the sunrise set Sunday at 6 am and it was phenomenal.
I can only explain so much in words the essence of a silent disco, and all I can say is you must add going to a silent disco to your bucket list. Venues across the nation are starting to realize the hype, and for good reason. Next time you make your way to an event, be sure to check if there are any silent disco after-parties!
