I was certainly intrigued the first time I heard the term, "silent disco", and as I learned more about the concept, I started hoping for an opportunity to try it out. Last summer, I had such an opportunity in the Dominican Republic, and it was as much fun as I had imagined. One of my biggest takeaways was that it would be a huge hit at a party for teens. As my daughter's 8th grade graduation grew near, I started looking for a way to incorporate a silent disco into her celebration.
What is a silent disco?
A silent disco is where each participant wears an individual, noise-cancelling, headset. Each headset has access to three different, pre-determined music stations. So while some people may be listening and dancing to the hip hop station, others may be singing along to classic rock or country. The result is a hysterical scene of bodies moving to what are obviously different beats. Party guests may try to guess what station their friends are on, sway them over to the station they are on, or together discover the ultimate mash-up.
Initially, I thought we would find a venue already throwing a silent disco, and have my daughter's party there, but I couldn't find any places in the area that do this. Then I learned that you can rent your own systems. I found Silence Activations which operates out of several Chicagoland suburbs. Not being technically savvy, I was a little intimidated by the idea of hosting our own silent disco, but I was so impressed with how easy it was.
All the equipment needed arrived at our door the day before the event. We received 20 fully charged headsets (15 hours of playtime), three transmitters, and three MP3 players with pre-loaded music. Our event was in a public park, so it was crucial that we not require electricity. Silence Activiations provides a video tutorial to walk you through the simple set-up.
The three transmitters each connect by wire to a MP3 Player, on which you can select your music genre, or you can connect your own playlist on your phone or other devices via bluetooth to one or all of the transmitters. We chose to use two of the MP3 players, and my daughter's own playlist on her phone. During the party, we wound up removing the other MP3 players and let the kids connect their personal playlists too. They could then compete to get more people on their stations. Each transmitter is assigned a color which lights up on the headsets when the user is on that channel. All you have to do turn the headsets on and pass them out. Users then control their own volume and station. Easy peazy! My one tip would be to double-check that the MP3 players are fully charged when you receive them. If they are not, cables are provided for charging before the event.
As a participant and now a host, I can tell you that a silent disco can be fun for all ages, and is a great way to get everyone on the dance floor. With Silence Activations, you can rent as few as 10 headsets to as many as 2,000 and you can even have them come onsite with technicans and live DJs. Check out their website for more information on all their equipment purchase and rental packages.
Please note, though Silence Activations lent us the silent disco system as a free trial, the opinions expressed are my own.
