Story and Photos by Sergio Pacheco/Contributing Writer
On Thursday, MT Spare hosted the “Silent DisGlow” event in the Student Union ballroom. Over a hundred students showed up to something they never expected to see.
Students who wanted to experience the Silent Disco first had to turn in their school I.D. in return for a pair of headphones. The glowing headphones had two buttons, one was for volume and the other to switch between audio channels. Once inside the ballroom, there were two DJs mixing music for listeners to tune into too.
For people who have never experienced something like a silent party, at first it can be awkward.
“This is something that some people do in their own room when they’re alone already, so why not include a group of people who have similar taste in music in the same room and see what happens,” said J’Darius Cameron, concerts manager at MT Spare.
Without headphones on, the only noises people can hear are other people singing, footsteps, and occasional smoke machines going off. That all changes when everyone puts their headphones on–it’s like stepping into a completely different environment.
“This event brings a lot of people together and gets them to experience something new – something that everyone can enjoy,” said Cameron.
Both DJs played a mix of up-beat music and popular song from the early 2000s ranging from all genres of music. For the first hour, as students were slowly filling up the room, a few groups formed and only a few students danced. As more students started showing up and popular songs were played, groups of people started to break down and everyone was dancing together.
“At first I was dancing with some people I knew from my organization, but once they started playing reggaeton I saw other people dancing to it so I joined them and we had a blast,” said Luz Soto, a business major at MTSU.
Compared to traditional events with loud music blasting at full volume, people have more control over how loud they want to hear music and still be able to talk to friends without losing their voice. Silent disco first started around the late 90s and early 2000s, but the Bonnaroo Music Festival used it as part of their lineup in 2005, according to Rivington Music Rehearsal Studios.
“We had about 300 headphones and about 600 people tried it out in last year’s exam jam event, but it’s something that has come and gone because not many people are aware of what a silent disco is like. We’ll try to keep bringing it back in the future since it has gotten a lot of positive feedback, “ said Richard Kershaw, director of Student Programming & Activities.
The idea of having a silent disco party may soon be on the rise in popularity, since it not only keeps the noise to a very unnoticeable level, but also provides more control for the audience.
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